Plymouth 1 Hull 0: No Championship play-offs for the Tigers with the party belonging to Argyle

Having taken the lead, deservedly, on 40 minutes through stalwart Joe Edwards, Argyle’s sense of well being was pegged back by the news of relegation rivals Birmingham beating Norwich.

A Plymouth concession of an equaliser would make Blues safe and Hull finally had a go. As the second half cracked on, it was taut.

Across the second city, West Brom’s procession against Preston meant that Hull’s play-off bid was over whatever happened at Home Park for them.

They still gave it right dig to find a leveller, but it was Plymouth’s day on an occasion when their players gave everything. Safety is a huge prize for this part of the south west.

Hull’s players, by contrast, never came to the party and it looked a game too far. They have still have an excellent season, but just miss out.

A riot of green and white - plus a section of orange in one half of the Barn Park End - and noise greeted both sets of players at a pleasantly sunny Home Park, with Hull followers providing the amusement by way of various fancy-dress attire - including a fair few traffic cones and Mexican gauchos.

The season was on the line for both, with City making one change with Liam Delap replacing Abdulkadir Omur.

For a side still in with play-off designs, the visitors were left to reflect on a surprisingly low-key first half by the standards of a side knocking on the top-six door and with their third best away record in the division.

Plymouth were the better side in the opening half, threatening in transition in particular down both flanks, especially down Hull’s right.

The home players played like their footballing lives depend on it - driven on by a passionate Devonian crowd and Hull - who struggled to get with it - could have no complaints at trailing at the break.

It came from a player who summed up Argyle’s strong mentality and will in the shape of Edwards, who was too strong for Matty Jacob following an excellent cross on the left from substitute Callum Wright and smacked his header past Ryan Allsop.

In the circumstances, it was a stirring first half from the hosts with Hull not looking anything like their true selves by contrast.

Their sole meaningful shot on target came from Delap who cut inside and forced Michael Cooper into a save low down, while Jaden Philogene - who had a disappointing half alongside Fabio Carvalho and Ozan Tufan - could not control the ball when in on goal after getting away from Ashley Phillips, who misjudged a long pass from Jacob Greaves.

Argyle won most of the battles and stretched Hull for spells. Thankfully, Greaves showed why he earned a place in the EFL’s team of the season by holding things together.

Two fine pieces of covering helped out City in the opening 20 minutes.

Argyle dangerman Morgan Whittaker - seeking to become the first Plymouth player to score 20 league goals in a season since 1993-94 - went mightily close to doing that after a nice exchange ended with his shot being superbly saved by Ryan Allsop – but he was powerless to prevent Edwards putting Argyle ahead from a cross from Wright, who came in minutes earlier for the injured Mustapha Bundu.

There were half-shouts for penalties at either end with Whittaker going down in the box under pressure from Greaves, while Tufan appealed in vain after going to floor following Phillips’ challenge but referee Darren Bond was unmoved.

Ryan Hardie fired a curler wide shortly before the interval for Argyle, with Hull’s poor half compounded by news from the Hawthorns after West Brom’s opener in first-half stoppage time.

Hull came out slightly early in the second half while you sensed Rosenior would do something and he did with Delap and Tufan making way for Noah Ohio and Omur.

The Tigers’ sell-out away contingent needed something to buy into and it came when Philogene’s fierce drive produced Cooper’s telling work of the afternoon when he made a strong parry.

Hull needed more of that, much more.

But the narrative still continued to be one of Argyle winning too many battles.

It was summed up when Phillips beat Carvalho in the duel and found Whittaker, whose cross-shot flashed across goal with the Devonport End praying for a touch from someone.

Whittaker continued to threaten and after Greaves and Jones went for the same ball, the Argyle top-scorer was played in, but substitute Lewie Coyle made a fine saving block.

Argyle needed a relieving second given events at St Andrew’s and nerves got edgy as the clock ticked as the hosts got deeper and deeper as the situation at the bottom remained on a knife-edge.

Less so for the last play-off spot with West Brom finishing with a wet sail.

It was Argyle’s day and they got their cherished safety with the final whistle being the precursor to home fans invading the pitch in joyous celebration.

Plymouth Argyle: Cooper; Phillips, Scarr, Gibson; Edwards, Randell, Devine (Forshaw 83), Mumba (Galloway 83); Whittaker, Bundu (Wright 38); Hardie (Waine 78). Unused substitutes: Hazard, Houghton, Pleguezuelo, Sorionola, Issaka.

Hull City: Allsop; Slater (Coyle 61), Jones, Greaves, Jacob (Giles 61); Seri, Morton (Sharp 78); Philogene, Carvalho, Tufan (Omur 45); Delap (Ohio 45). Unused substitutes: Ingram, McLoughlin, Docherty, Traore.

Referee: D Bond (Lancs).

Attendance: 16,881 (1,706 Hull fans).