Hull City 0 Aston Villa 2: Hapless Hull are architects of own misery against Villa

Needing a point at the very least to maintain any realistic hope of escaping relegation, the Tigers could not be faulted in terms of effort and desire.

Iain Dowie's battlers snapped and snarled at Aston Villa, refusing to give an inch against a team who seem destined to be once again competing in Europe next season.

However, Hull's tendency to press the self-destruct button at vital times made another unwelcome appearance to leave Yorkshire football less than three weeks away from potentially having no representative in the top flight.

Hull can still get out of trouble with fourth-bottom West Ham being, thanks to a vastly superior goal difference, effectively four points ahead with nine still up for grabs.

But even the most ardent Tiger fan must concede it is going to take a spectacular turnaround in form to survive, especially once Hull's ability to be their own worst enemies at either end of the field is taken into account.

Last night was a perfect example of just why it has all gone so badly wrong this season.

Not only did the 14th-minute goal from Gabriel Agbonlahor that set Villa on their way to victory owe a huge debt to a comedy of errors committed by the home team.

But when Hull created three gilt-edged chances of their own in the space of five first-half seconds, they somehow contrived to squander them all.

At a level where mistakes are invariably punished, it was a stark lesson in just why Hull's stint in the top flight is likely to be over come May 9.

After the battling point earned at Birmingham City last weekend, Dowie had again opted to employ Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink as the lone frontman in front of a packed midfield.

The intention was clear, to hopefully frustrate Villa before looking to seize the initiative as the game wore on.

Unfortunately for Dowie, any notion of keeping Martin O'Neill's men in check was blown away by some predictably feeble defending.

The needless errors began in the centre of the field when Hull carelessly squandered possession.

Two chances to clear were then subsequently wasted as, first, Steven Mouyokolo miscued a header before jittery Paul McShane inexplicably fired the ball straight at John Carew.

The rebound fell to Agbonlahor, the England striker then showing tremendous poise to control before firing a shot beyond Matt Duke and two defenders on the line.

It was the worst possible start for the Tigers, who nevertheless deserved credit for refusing to give in.

Instead, they calmly re-established a foothold in proceedings by taking the game to the visitors.

Such an approach should have been rewarded on 24 minutes – only for Villa to be let off the hook by an amazing triple miss.

A typically forceful tackle by George Boateng on Carlos Cuellar had been the catalyst for the move, the ball breaking to Kevin Kilbane, who slide a perfectly timed pass for Venegoor of Hesselink to chase.

However, just as the 23,842 crowd rose to acclaim the expected goal, Hull's tall Dutch striker was thwarted by goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who quickly got to his feet to block the follow-up from Kilbane.

Even then, the danger was not averted as Kilbane claimed possession before creating the space to drill a shot that struck James Collins before looping over the crossbar.

It was, depending on whether you were last night sporting claret and blue or amber and black, either a stunning piece of defending or a shockingly wasteful piece of attacking.

Either way, Villa were clearly in no mood to give their hosts another sniff and only the quick thinking of Duke rescued McShane on the hour after a woefully underhit backpass was almost seized upon by Carew.

Fifteen minutes from time and the game really was up for Hull as a swift break saw Carew play James Milner into the penalty area where he was tripped by George Boateng.

Referee Mike Dean had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, allowing Milner to send Duke the wrong way from the spot and leave Dowie's men staring relegation in the face.

Hull City: Duke; McShane, Mouyokolo, Sonko, Dawson; Fagan, Bullard, Boateng, Cairney (Geovanni 70), Kilbane (Olofinjana 84); Vennegoor of Hesselink (Altidore 54). Unused substitutes: Myhill, Barmby, Cullen, Cooper.

Aston Villa: Friedel; Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock; Young, Milner, Petrov (Sidwell 84), Downing; Carew (Heskey 90), Agbonlahor. Unused substitutes: L Young, Delfouneso, Reo-Coker, Guzan, Beye.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).