Hull City 0 – 0 Manchester United
Newcastle United 2 – 0 West Ham United (Sissoko 54′, Gutierrez 85′)
The final game of the EPL season saw Hull City and Newcastle United as the only 2 teams who were not yet out of the reach of the relegation zone’s clutches.
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Prior to the final encounters of the season, Newcastle sat above Hull with a difference of 2 points, meaning a win is all it would take for the Tigers to pounce to safety should the Magpies’ result against West Ham have gone their way – however the knowledge that this would be no easy feat lingered, rightfully so.
Steve Bruce had never triumphed over Manchester United in his 17 years of management, and today he would fail to do so one again.
The Tigers’ offered a valiant attacking threat throughout the match, but it was ultimately to no avail. Whilst they lacked possession in comparison to United, they managed 16 shots – 6 of which were on target – and even had the ball in the net twice. Though both braces were disallowed.
Hull began their onslaught from the very beginning, with January signing Dame N’Doye missing out on a good chance just 2 minutes into the game as Victor Valdes proved to quick and gathered the ball once Chris Smalling was beaten.
The first of the Tigers’ disallowed goals occurred in the 18th minute as Paul McShane turned in Robbie Brady’s free-rick, only to find himself in an offside position, much to the dismay of the KC Stadium.
The Hull faithful would rue their teams misfortune again a mere minute later. N’Doye turned in the initial shot from Stephen Quinn only to have the celebrations silenced once by the offside flag – an omen for how this fixture would turn out for Hull.
More chances came for Hull, and were subsequently squandered. Instances of this include David Meyler spooning the ball skyward from 10 yards out, and a goalmouth scramble which N’Doye could not capitalize on.
Newcastle, however, would have a far different story to tell.
Prior to their encounter with the Hammers, John Carver hadn’t seen his side win a game since February, with 8 of their last 9 fixtures resulting in defeat. A sense of hopelessness had surrounded the situation on Tyneside both on and off the pitch.
That was about to change.
The first half ended goalless, much like it had at Hull, and both teams still knew the pendulum of relegation could yet still swing either way. But come the 54th minute, things got a lot brighter for those at St. James’ Park.
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Moussa Sissoko headed home a Jonas Gutierrez cross to send the stadium into euphoria, and their fate was sealed – for all the right reasons – 5 minutes from stoppage time as Gutierrez himself ensured the win, along with the Magpies’ Premier League status.
A miserable season for Newcastle, perhaps, was ended with a heart-warming conclusion with Gutierrez heroic contribution to the win via an assist and a goal. A man who had beaten testicular cancer earlier this season and had now helped his team beat the dreaded drop. A truly inspirational tale.
For Hull, however, there would be no happy ending; they will simply have to accept relegation.
There could only be one survivor today, and that’s Newcastle United – the Magpies who found their wings just at the right time, it would seem.