Steve Bruce’s Hull City will be playing in the English top flight next season thanks to Senegal international Mohamed Diame.
It was 18 minutes from the end when Mo Diame curled a quite brilliant winner over the heroic Keiren Westwood in the Sheffield Wednesday goal to silent the blue and white hordes.
Hull started the game looking like a Premier League team that had merely been on loan to the Championship for a season. They were all power and assurance. Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore quickly established a hold on midfield.
They did not have it all their own way.
Everybody had warned that Wednesday were the team with the flair players and only 10 minutes had gone when Fernando Forestieri set about proving the point.
Everybody had warned that Wednesday were the team with the flair players and only 10 minutes had gone when Fernando Forestieri set about proving the point.
He took the ball with his back to goal on the left touchline and turned so sweetly away from Michael Dawson that the Hull skipper could only get close enough to chop him down as he closed in on goal. Dawson was booked and Eldin Jakupovic tipped Forestieri’s free-kick over the bar.
The Tigers came close to opening the scoring after half an hour. Abel Hernandez rose unchallenged to meet a corner and his downward header was chested off the line by Kieran Lee. In the melee that followed, there were claims for handball against Wednesday but the referee waved them away.
It kept looking like the goal will come for Hull. Diame bludgeoned his way past a couple of weak tackles and unleashed a left-foot shot that beat Westwood but cannoned off the outside of the post. It seemed as if it was only a matter of time until Bruce’s side took the lead.
They had another opportunity two minutes before the break when Moses Odubajo raced through but a heavy first touch allowed Westwood, who had sprinted from his line, to block Odubajo’s cross. Westwood was soon back in action in the second half, flinging himself at a volley by Dawson and blocking it with his body.
Hull missed a gilt-edged chance just before the hour when Ahmed Elmohamady crossed beautifully into the path of Andy Robertson. The cross was so well judged that Robertson did not have to break stride but with only Westwood to beat, he lifted his shot wildly over the bar from 10 yards out.
Eventually, the goal came. It was always going to take a special strike to beat Westwood and Diame delivered it, curling his shot over the desperate dive of the goalkeeper from 25 yards out. Westwood got one hand to it but could not keep it out.
By virtue of their Premier League promotion, Hull are now set for a cash injection of £165m from television broadcasting rights.
