Safe. Mathematically.

  • by Staff Writer
  • Monday, 3rd May 2010

Hull finally became the third club to be relegated from the Premier League tonight thanks to a last-gasp strike from Wigan's Steve Gohouri.

City, leading 2-1 at the time, were just moments away from taking their fight to remain in the top-flight to the final day of the season - even if it meant that a win somewhere in the region of 20-0 would have been required next Sunday as a result of West Ham's superior goal difference - until their hopes were finally extinguished by the 29-year-old's goal.

Despite having fallen behind to a Victor Moses goal on the half-hour mark, Iain Dowie's side struck twice - through Will Atkinson (42 minutes) and Mark Cullen (64) - to surge ahead and in sight of their first away win of the season.

That was until Wigan's on-loan Ivory Coast defender Gohouri, making only his fourth appearance for the Latics fired home the equaliser - with an overhead kick, no less - in the third minute of added time to condemn the Tigers to the drop, just two years after they reached the top flight for the first time in their history.

Whether Iain Dowie - who was drafted in by City towards the end of the campaign in a desperate and ultimately futile attempt to stave off the drop - will remain in his post next season remains to be seen.

Meanwhile - and despite leading his team to safety with crucial wins against Sunderland and Wigan during the run-in - Gianfranco Zola's prospects of managing in the Premier League next season appear to be equally bleak, following his latest comments with regard to his position.

Talking after West Ham's 3-2 defeat at Fulham yesterday, Zola told the BBC: "I don't want to make any comments any more; I've already said what I thought and that is enough. I just want to focus on the last game which is important to me."

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