PEEEEP! And the game ends three minutes after Hull are relegated. Lee Probert may even have blown his whistle a little early. Hull are relegated by four points - Hull fought hard today but in truth their season was lost in the final few games before this.
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90min +6: Ooof. This is cruel for Hull - they’ve got to play through a long period of added time, knowing they’re down. They still attack thoug
90min + 5: The game has ended in Newcastle - and Hull are relegated.
90 min+ 4: Dawson heads his shot into Valdes’s arms. If De Gea does leave United, Valdes has been an interesting replacement. He’s fumbled plenty this afternoon but also pulled off two brilliant saves.
90 min +2: Rooney’s free-kick is tipped over by Harper, the former Newcastle keeper. He looks disconsolate as he does so. Seven minutes of added time.
90 min: Hull have been given the opportunities this afternoon: some great chances in the first-half and then a good go at 10 men towards the end of the second. The chants are now from the United fans.
88 min: A great shot from Quinn. Well, struck anyway. It’s straight at Valdes. The atmosphere is understandably subdued here although there are a good few defiant chants from the crowd.
86 min: Newcastle have scored! And Hull are all but relegated. They now need West Ham to score twice in five minutes, and score themselves.
85 min: Brady curls a free-kick ... straight into Valdes’s grasp. A wasted chance.
83 min: McShane now has a black bandage after the five minutes we were delayed while he was patched up. We’ll have at least seven minutes of added time, I should think. Hernandez has a superb chance but can’t get his shot off as it bobbles around his feet.
79 min: Oh, and McShane is also bleeding from his head. When Fellaini attacks people he at least does it properly. There will be plenty of added time - McShane is being bandaged up on the pitch.
Red card! Fellaini (77 min)
Fellaini ends his season with an awful ‘tackle’ that involves plenty of studs and plenty of McShane’s thigh. McShane lies bleeding on the turf.
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76 min: Hernandez punches a United player - I miss which one - in the stomach. This is not a good tactic while chasing a goal that could save your team’s Premier League existence. He is very lucky not to be sent off.
74 min: Another brilliant save from Valdes! Jelavic clips the ball on the near post and it looks like it’s streaking into the net before the keeper saves to his left. Valdes has been an entrtaining mix of awful and brilliant.
73 min: Mata makes way for Wilson.
72 min: Hernandez plays a clever ball into Brady but he can’t quite reach.
71 min: Hull subs: Chester is off for Hernandez, and N’Doye makes way for Aluko.
69 min: United swing it around to no effect apart from to waste Hull’s time. Here’s Tom Harp: “Why are Man U in white? Is it some sort of subliminal signal?” It’s when Blind and Mata took out a picnice hamper and started on the sandwiches by the centre circle that I got my suspicions, Tom.
67 min: Hull look like men who have realised their doom is upon them in 23 minutes or so if they don’t score and are at their most dangerous since the start of the first-half. Elmohamady’s long ball into the box is headed away.
65 min: This is more like it for Hull. A lovely cross from Brady is clicked on by McShane but the ball flies past the right post. N’Doye’s looping volley then goes wide.
63 min: All sorts of drama! Valdes completely misses his punch, the ball drops into the six-yard area and several United players fall over. The ball doesn’t fall to a Hull player though and United can clear. Rooney smashed into Fellaini during the melee and his stumbling towards the sidelines.
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60 min: Herrera has had A LOT of good chances today. This time, his shot skips across the face of goal with Harper beaten. Hull haven’t had a decent chance since that frenzied period in the first-half. They do have a corner now though ...
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59 min: Young comes off for Fellaini. Young had played in central midfield today. Suffice to say, it’s not his best position.
58 min: Young slices into the area and slides the ball across to Herrera. It takes a swift interception from McShane to clear the danger. Meanwhile, in minor acts of violence news, Blind is booked.
56 min: Some grimaces from Hull fans as the news comes in from Newcastle. Still, Hull had to score before and that’s still the case now.
55 min: Newcastle have scored against West Ham, and are now in a very strong position to stay up. You can read about it here.
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53 min: N’Doye attempts to flick the ball on to himself but he gets too full a contact. “Would it be so bad for United fans if Brady whipped in a free kick to win the game? Provided, of course, Newcastle do not beat West Ham,” says John Dagley.
51 min: Ooof. Huddlestone fouled on the very edge of the area - Hull were about 0.005mm away from a penalty. And the Tigers have a free-kick on the left-hand side of the area. Huddlestone drives the ball hard and low into various United feet. A poor decision from Huddlestone.
48 min: Meyler then has a superb chance for Hull. The ball drops at his feet around eight yards out. But the ball spins off his foot and wide of the goal. And over the goal if you want the full details.
46 min: And we’re off again. Hull start slowly. Herrera has a brilliant chance and it takes a superb charge down from Dawson to block the shot. Terrible pass from Dawson let him in.
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Half-time: We go in with the scores level - and Hull still being relegated. Having said that, Hull have had two goals ruled out for offside and would have been in the lead if not for a brilliant save from Valdes.
45 min: Ohhhhh. Herrera has a great chance. The ball bobbles just outside the six-yard area, and the United player can’t quite get his foot high enough to poke the ball home. If he’d gone for the header, Hull could have been in real trouble.
43 min: Odd from Hull - playing the ball back into their own half as they start to press forward. A misplaced pass then breaks up another attack. Hull decide to test Valdes with a high, swinging cross but he takes it under pressure from a Hull head. De Gea, by the way, hasn’t travelled with the team today - Real Madrid, anyone?
41 min: Rojo scampers forward and has a shot. It takes a deflection but luckily for Hull the ball flops up in the air and Harper gathers.
38 min: Elmohamady tricks his way past Januzaj but his cross is cut off easily enough at the edge of the area. Rooney then has a swipe at Brady - he may well have been booked if his season wasn’t ambling towards an end.
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34 min: Elmohamady ends a long spell without the ball bothering the United box. But his cross is headed away easily enough. Meyler’s dart towards the area is then stopped by Blind. A real lull for Hull over the last 10 minutes or so, and the crowd has quietened in response.
31 min: United have had 64% of the possession yet have done almost nothing with it. Proof, perhaps, of their willingness to sit back and take it easy. They’ve shown a lot of control but very little urgency.
28 min: United had a few decent chances in the opening stages but it’s been all Hull since then. It’s almost like they’re fighting for their careers. Having said that, United are now on the attack. Or they were, now they’re effing about with it mindlessly in their own half. Maybe they just heard Arsenal are 3-0 up.
25 min: Jelavic in trouble now, he’s grabbing his foot. He’s gone to the sidelines to have a wee jog to see if he can run it off.
7 - Angel Di Maria completed 90 minutes in the Premier League only seven times this season. Fleeting.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 24, 2015
23 min: Di Maria is hobbling off, an inglorious end to an inglorious season. Januzaj replaces him.
“My school report once said ‘Mark does the minimum required to get through’ and I’m thinking both Hull and Newcastle have copied my template, doing hardly anything throughout the year and then trying to make up for it at the deadline. It is not a recipe for success from my experience,” says Mark Judd.
21 min: Hull have another goal ruled out! Quinn’s shot slips through a sea of legs and into the net but two Hull players were offside - and blocking Valdes’s sightlines.
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19 min: Arsenal are beating West Brom 2-0, so United can pretty much say goodbye to third place. Although that was always an outside chance anyway. Another free-kick for Hull, on the right of the area. It’s swung in, Valdes fumbles and McShane pokes home. But he was offside - it won’t count. Valdes makes up for it moments later though Elmohamady powers a header and the keeper saves low to his left. What a save.
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16 min: Quinn plays another ball into the box - a quick, zipped pass but Smalling’s outstretched foot intercepts before Hull can take advantage. Resident surgeon JR emails in with the inviting subject line ‘Double Sack Knack’: “For a minute there I thought we had the extremely rare double sack knack but while Elmohamady held up his end of the bargain I believe Di Maria actually took the hit to a region just a bit higher up.”
13 min: Steve Bruce, by the way, has never beaten United as a manager.
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11 min: Di Maria is OK to continue too. As is Elmohamady, who had looked to be struggling. Anyway, Hull have a free-kick around 40-yards out in the middle of the field. Huddlestone hovers around looking like he’s considering a shot. But he slips it to the side to Quinn, whose ball in to the box is cleared for a corner. Hull have looked good on set pieces so far.
8 min: And we have a corner for Hull. Jelvic prowls about the area - Hull look so much more dangerous when he’s in the side. McShane nearly gets his head to the corner but United clear. Di Maria is down after getting a knee to the solar plexus. Or possibly somewhere lower down and more painful.
6 min: Yep, United look like they’re not in any mood to do their former captain, Steve Bruce, any favours. They’re pinging the ball about with a fair amount of joy as they contemplate their holidays. And most of the pinging is being done about the Hull box. Di Maria overhits a cross that Harper gathers.
3 min: Of course, if you attack from the opening stages you also leave yourself open at the back. United sweep up the pitch and Rooney receives the ball just outside the box, he gets his head over the ball and drives his shot at goal - it clips the bar.
1 min: And we’re off. The skies are blue-ish over Hull and the atmosphere peppy. Hull - as you would expect - are looking to start quickly. And N’Doye has a header, which Valdes smothers.
Right, here in New York they’re still showing the F1 - so there’s a small chance we may have commentary of some dudes spraying champagne about while Jelavic thrashes in his eighth goal.
And, yep, this is being done in New York so we’re five hours behind Manchester. Still, we’re right up to the minute with the current Premier League news and can’t wait to see Sir Alex Ferguson oversee Bobby Charlton captain Dion Dublin and Co this afternoon.
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And a word from the fans. The Observer asked you, the fan, about your team’s season. And you had this to say. You, personally.
Manchester United – Shaun O’Donnell
7/10 The early part of the season was all about injuries and LVG’s persistence with three at the back when the likes of Jones and Smalling were technically incapable of playing in such a system. We were winning games but lacked conviction. In March it seemed to click in to place with six league wins on the bounce, but in usual United style we then lost the next three, with Carrick injured and Rooney dropping back into midfield. The signs are good for next season, though. I’ve bought into LVG and I can see what he is trying to achieve. I did expect him to be more of a presence in the technical area, though, barking orders when we’re chasing a late goal. Instead we have Giggs with his hands in his tracksuit pockets and his head cocked to one side.
The stars Ashley Young has been a revelation, forming an excellent relationship with Daley Blind on the left. De Gea has been outstanding again and his gloves will prove hard to fill. The flops It just didn’t happen for Falcao – and Di María has been woeful, too.
Summer targets With Depay already signed, the window looks promising. I’d expect a ball-playing centre-half such as Hummels, a box-to-box midfielder and enforcer such as Vidal, and a pacy striker. I’d go for Thomas Müller.
Best and worst away fans Swansea always give it their all, but there was hardly a squeak from City.
Hull –Rick Skelton – @HullCityLive
4/10 It’s been a major let-down on the pitch given the investment in the squad last summer, while the ongoing “Hull Tigers” nonsense continued to cause division off it. The disappointment started early with the needless exit from the Europa League and, though there have been moments of quality, consistent inconsistency has ruled. Steve Bruce bought players who didn’t meet the standards of professionalism he’d established in the squad and has failed to get the best out of players who are capable of much, much more. We’ve also been riddled with injuries – too many to just be pure luck.
The stars Nikica Jelavic makes a big difference. Whenever he’s injured, which is too often, we’re unrecognisable. Michael Dawson improved after a tough start and, in a season where big names have let us down, Paul McShane, Stephen Quinn and David Meyler never have. The flops £10m Abel Hernández and Tom Huddlestone, who has been garbage for 18 months.
Summer targets We need quality in midfield and we’re crying out for pace on the break.
Best and worst away fans Lokeren fans were incredible in the Europa League, while Man City were the very definition of “You only sing when you’re winning”.
Just before Hull fans give up hope. West Ham have been in their position before - and succeeded. In the 2006-07 season West Ham played Man Utd in the final game of the season needing to win and, um, won. Man Utd were champions then too. And it was at Old Trafford.
Although West Ham had Carlos Tevez. And had won five of their last seven games. And United were pretty much on holiday. Oh, AND West Ham had Jonathan Spector.
What Hull need today: Throw away your calculator watches, it’s simple. Hull need to beat United today and hope Newcastle lose or draw against West Ham. United also have something to play for - they can move up to third in the table (and away from a Champions League playoff) if they beat Hull and Arsenal (who are seven better off in goal difference) lose to West Brom.
And your teams for today are:
Hull: Harper, Chester, Dawson, McShane, Elmohamady, Meyler, Huddlestone, Quinn, Brady, N’Doye, Jelavic. Subs: McGregor, Rosenior, Bruce, Hernandez, Sagbo, Aluko, Robertson.
Man Utd: Valdes, Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Blind, Mata, Ander Herrera, Di Maria, Young, Rooney. Subs: Januzaj, Lindegaard, van Persie, Fellaini, McNair, Blackett, Wilson.
Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)
Hi. Tom will be here soon enough. While you wait, here is Amy Lawrence on how After joining ManchesterUnited with a superb record in Europe, Radamel Falcao has baffled his audience – struggling with injury and unable to make an impact – but in Colombia faith in his skills remains high
Just over a year ago Radamel Falcao walked into a room in Madrid to greet a cluster of schoolboys flown over from Colombia to meet their hero. One of them, a 12-year-old boy who had built his own museum dedicated to the player back at home in Bogotá, was so overcome to see his icon with his own eyes he fell to his knees and wept. Falcao picked him up, sat him down, patted his head, and held his hand while they spoke.
“Your leg will get better,” the boy insisted earnestly. “God will make it stronger. I am not just saying it so you’ll play in the World Cup but for you.” Hearing those words from the boy, Falcao was moved to tears himself. The boy touched each of Falcao’s knees. “I’m telling you, this leg and this leg will be strong.”
At the time, Falcao was in the middle of his rehabilitation from anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered while playing for Monaco. There were hopes his recovery might be accelerated enough to play at the World Cup in Brazil last summer. His footballing future still seemed full of possibility.
From that point to this, however, Falcao’s career has taken a significant hit. There was no way the doctors could put it gently that he would miss the opportunity of a World Cup on Latin American soil. Since regaining fitness, an underwhelming season at Old Trafford has gnawed away at the sense of what kind of player Falcao now is. El Tigre, so named for his predatory traits, has looked comparatively timid.
