With relegation all but mathematically sealed, Iain Dowie drops the superstars and plays the younger squad members - with predictable positive effect in terms of effort shown, goals scored and excitement generated.  However a goal deep into injury time denies City their first away win of the season.

Report by Mike Scott.

And so mathematical confirmation is added to practical truth, and the Tigers are relegated to the Championship. It took an acrobatic Wigan equaliser in the third minute of injury time to complete the demise of City's Premier League status, but in truth the deed was done when we were beaten by Burnley - certainly the 4-1 drubbing at the KC, some would say the 2-0 reverse at the end of October at Turf Moor when Phil Brown kept his job in the teeth of all common sense and logic.

Well let's start by saying that we had two seasons in the Premier League, which is one season more than most would have settled for in August 2008 as City took to the field and received a thorough 20 minute chasing from a Fulham side, prior to Geovanni's delicious strike steering our first top flight campaign into the most unlikely territory seen at that level for many a year. That extra season is good. Trouble is, the ludicrously vanity-driven financial stewardship of Messrs Duffen and - to a lesser extent on the financial side but exceedingly so on the vanity side - Brown has seen that extra season traded for perilous financial instability that will mean that City will start next season with a distinct personnel disadvantage, if not a very real CVA-inspired points disadvantage. The talk of the £60m game two Mays ago now seems extraordinarily hollow, that money has been pissed away along with a lot more. The absence of relegation clauses, the vanity signings despite failed medical and insurable joints, the exchange of Turner for Sonko in return for a net OUTLAY (!!), the ostentatiously revamped boardroom, perhaps the occasional duck pond in West Park for all we know - it's a litany of mismanagement on a grand scale and an almighty fuck up that City will regret for many years to come. There are startling parallels with the current political scene - perhaps we should get in Vince Cable to sort it all out.

But despite all that, one wouldn't have missed it for the world. The moments of exquisite jaw-dropping excitement and elation during the early stages of last season where of course the high points, but there were other tangible benefits that will be missed. Seeing my crappy little football club on Match of the Day every week. The worldwide exposure that one can only truly appreciate if one spends a few days overseas and gets accosted by people in a far off land on account of simply wearing City's favours. The ability to, nay honour of, seeing breathtaking displays by opposition players of the very highest world-class quality (Lampard at the KC last season, Rooney twice this season, Defoe in August), supplemented by some wonderful individual performances from our own ranks (Myhill at Spurs this January, King and Geovanni ripping apart West Brom, Mendy tearing up Liverpool's back four, Michael Turner repelling all-comers at Molineux, Altidore brutalising Man City just 3 months ago).

But as has been written about at length in recent weeks, there have been some crashing lows as well. The distinct lack of any green being rubbed to our favour, especially when we started to, and continued to, falter after Christmas 2008. The wankerous antics of diving Premier League show ponies. The lazily dim-witted protestations of so called media "experts" (to whose ranks we can now add George Boateng, it pains me to say).

And do you know, I'm one of those folk for whom, as this season wore on and misery was piled upon pain and anguish week after week after week, the gloss and excitement of the top flight faded to the extent that today's relegation is a welcome release for me. City are back where they belong - a skint but well supported side from a funny town on the East Coast, plying their trade in football's second tier. Normal service has been resumed. The excitement was fabulous, but it's over now. Thank God for that.

City completed their travels this season without garnering a win. Even in our darkest days of recent past, the rock bottom Tigers of old mustered one away win in the campaign - a Paul Fewings inspired win at York in 94/95 and a 3-1 tonking at Exeter in 80/81 - and so it is that the club's 94th League campaign is the first to finish winless on the road. But this was by far the most unfortunate non-win of the season because the Tigers, freed by the evaporation of any relegation fears and energised by the injection of youth, played a fine 90 minutes and did more than enough to deserve victory against a Wigan side that pass well in two thirds of the pitch but fail abjectly in the really important third. That we were denied was testament to Wigan's resilience - last seen when they fought back heroically to beat Arsenal and simultaneously shaft City's last remaining chance of survival and bugger up the Londoners' fading title prospects - and City's total inability to defend consistently in the closing minutes of football matches. Mr Dowie, assuming he gets the permanent job, will need to place a focus on the concentration levels of tired players when they return for summer training in late June.

City had a Spring time look of regeneration and rebirth about their starting eleven, beneath alternating spring showers and sunshine, lining up thus:

Duke
Mendy Gardner Mouyokolo Dawson
Atkinson Cairney Boateng Kilbane
Cullen Vennegoor of Hesselink

So no Jimmy Bullard even in the 16, a thoroughly deserved exclusion for his fecklessness against Sunderland, and the attacking instincts of young Will Atkinson, Mark Cullen and Tom Cairney were mustered to support the wise old head of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. Kilbane lurked on the left and gave the ball away quite a bit while George swept up behind effectively. I have warmed greatly to Vennegoor of Hesselink in recent times, he came to City with a ludicrous contract offer in his pocket but to his great credit he has never treated this as a feet up in front of the sofa last payday. He has given his best throughout, played to his strengths whenever allowed and led the line with guile and bravery. He is my player of the season.

Wigan started brightly with Watson and Rodallega both testing City's defence with early potshots. In return Atkinson (looking bright and every bit a top flight prospect) and Cullen (who harried Caldwell throughout and grew in stature as the game went on and his evident early minute nerves subsided) combined to find the bonce of Vennegoor of Hesselink, but he headed wide. Further decent work on the City left created a crossing opportunity that found Atkinson on the right beyond the far post, and his low shot was parried by the raven haired Stojkovic in the Wigan nets.

Then on 22 City's best chance to date, as Cullen and Atkinson crashed through tackles in midfield and combined to feed Vennegoor of Hesselink whose snapshot was deflected into the path of Kilbane, who drove a low and powerful shot just wide of the left hand post. A thrilling moment in an otherwise rather pedestrian match, unsurprisingly given that nothing meaning would be decided today whatsoever.

On 30 the opening goal. Wigan enjoyed a 60 second spell of neat and patient passing that no doubt pleased the footballing purist Martinez no end. Yet it paid dividends not by the swish of a rapier, but by the bludgeon of a block tackle. Rodallega ended the passing move with a shot that was blocked by Mouyokolo and the ball span away towards the halfway line at Boateng's feet. As George rampaged forward he looked up and discovered he'd entered choppy waters, three defenders surrounding him. He coughed up possession cheaply and the ball was swiftly punted to young turk Victor Moses who scurried past an exposed Mouyokolo, received scant attention from the covering Mendy and smote a fine right foot shot beyond Duke's grasp and into the net via the inside of the far post. Some decent stuff by City undone by another soft mistake, 1-0 Wigan.

They nearly made it two when a deep corner was headed back across the face of goal by Figueroa and Moses - unmarked and twelve yards out - swivelled, only to perform an air shot that saw the ball deflect away from danger off his standing leg. But minutes later City raided forward again and a cross from the right evaded all City attackers and was palmed away by Stojkovic to Kilbane on the left wing. Wigan players stop as they expected a raised linesman's flag, Vennegoor of Hesselink and Cullen both standing in offside position after attacking the previous cross, but Kilbane crossed deep to Will Atkinson, entering the box from deep, who celebrated his first Premier League start by nodding powerfully past an exposed Stojkovic to equalise. The relegation great escape was back on!!

City started the second half superbly, pressing Wigan back and dominating events. Cullen saw a brief sight of goal after a City free kick but his effort was blocked and Wigan broke swiftly, drawing a smart save from Duke at the other end. Rodallega then showed why for all his pace and skills, he plays for Wigan, not Arsenal. First he saw a low shot blocked after City again coughed up possession cheaply around halfway, then he wasted another chance as Mouyokolo misjudged a header and he was in the clear, only hook his over-blasted shot well wide. Finally a Cairney foul on Melchiot allowed a quick free kick to be taken that released Rodallega and a smart first touch set up a shot that was again powerfully but waywardly struck, this time over the bar.

After these Wigan chances City decided enough was enough and committed more men forward. Mendy played an improbable one-two off McCarthy's shins before rumbling forward with attacking intent, breaking tackles and occasionally maintaining control of the ball. His rampage was summarily ended by Gohouri who chopped the Frenchman down and earned a yellow card. The free kick was swung goalwards and cleared to Cairney and Atkinson on the City right, who passed sweetly to work space for a Boateng cross that was deep enough to evade defenders and goalkeeper alike, finding the diminutive Cullen at the far post who gleefully nodded the ball home from 4 yards. As the City support exploded with glee, young Cullen looked utterly bemused that he, a young 18 year old ginger kid, had scored a Premier League goal and he jogged around the back of the nets before being mobbed by his elated team-mates. Mauled by the Tigers.

And so we continued. Wigan threw on their benched strikers but left big gaps at the back to exploit. And who better to exploit them than the legend that is Caleb Folan, who came on for a tiring but heroic Vennegoor of Hesselink. Folan went through his full repertoire within minutes of his introduction - the profligate offside when released by a tidy Cullen pass, the jogging about hands a-flapping by his side in positions where he could not possibly receive the ball, the headed flick into areas nowhere near his team mates and, when he did get the ball in behind the Wigan defence and was not flagged offside, the total airshot when shooting from 15 yards. Caleb will no doubt be leading our front line next season, a statement that will no doubt strike fear into at least one set of Championship supporters throughout 2010-11 (although I do hope we can tempt Vennegoor of Hesselink into another season, albeit at a vastly reduced emolument).

Anyway the game drifted towards injury time and Wigan finally remembered that at around the hour mark they had bought on the nippy Scott Sinclair, a player that always scares our defence as a minimum, on the rare occasions that he doesn't pot a goal or two against City. Sinclair went on a late rampage and won a few corners, all of which were repelled stoutly until a final one was half cleared and returned by Wigan into the six yard box where a chest and bicycle kick saw centre back Gohouri win the home side a point.

Enjoy next season - it's where City are at home, you see.

HULL CITY (4-4-2): Duke; Mendy, Gardner, Mouyokolo, Dawson; Atkisnon, Cairney, Boateng, Kilbane; Cullen, Vennegoor of Hesselink.  Subs: Folan (for Vennegoor of Hesselink, 70), Fagan, Geovanni, Barmby, Cooper, Olofinjana, Myhill.

Goals: Atkinson 42; Cullen 64

Booked: None

Sent Off: None

WIGAN ATHLETIC: Stojkovic, Caldwell, Gohouri, Melchiot, Figueroa, Watson, Diame, Gomez, McCarthy, Rodallega, Moses.  Subs: Sinclair (for McCarthy, 65), Scotland (for Gomez, 79), Scharner (for Diame, 82), Pollitt, Boyce, Thomas, Mustoe.

Goals: Moses 30; Gohouri 90

Booked: Gohouri, Melchiot

Sent Off: None

REFEREE:    P Dowd

ATTENDANCE: 20,242