Portsmouth 1 Hull City 1: Tigers get the job done – just – to stay up on goal difference

Knowing victory would keep them in the division, the Tigers' weakness at the start of second halves meant they had to rely on results elsewhere.

Fortunately for them, Luton Town caved in after recent signs of fighting their way to safety, and will kick off next season in League One having finished the last in the Premier League.

Hull survive on goal difference. They too will wonder how it came to this, having gone into the final day of last season with an outside chance of taking Luton’s place in the top flight.

The Tigers put their 2,161 supporters through agony, but then a season of self-inflicted regression was never likely to have a comfortable ending as Hull began with an attacking line-up ended with amber shirts banked behind the ball to claim a 1-1 draw that did the job.

And on the final day of the football season, doing the job is all it is ever about.

Matt Crooks, brought into the midfield, flicked wide from an early Gustavo Puerta corner, and both he and Kyle Joseph tried to stab in in the untidy mess from Puerta's second long throw-in of the first six minutes.

Lewie Coyle had a left-footed shot touched wide.

Portsmouth had offered little up to that point, and when Harvey Blair broke away in the 13th minute, a beaten Sean McLoughlin hacked him down with a tackle which ended the winger's afternoon and put the left-back in the book.

Hull's deserved goal owed something to the presence of mind of Joseph, who realised he was in an offside position when Coyle flicked the ball forward. Crooks gave it to him, and when Joseph was fouled. Puerta's free-kick was touched behind for a corner.

Joao Pedro flicked it on and Crooks found the net.

Joe Gelhardt was denied a much-needed second when Conor Shaughnessy threw himself in way of the shot after the Leeds United loanee forced his way into the area.

By then Luton were trailing at West Bromwich Albion but Freddie Potts' header at Ivor Pandur, McLoughlin's excellent penalty-area tackle on Callum Laing and chances wide for Marlon Pack and Lang – one directly, one with a deflection – in first-half stoppage-time were a warning that Hull's job was not yet done.

The Tigers have such a weakness in the first 15 minutes of second halves, and it struck again.

Half-time substitute Christian Saydee was played in down the inside-right channel and lashed a shot which beat Pandur at his near post after 55 minutes.

It was the 35th goal Hull have conceded in the first 15 minutes of the second half – only relegated Plymouth Argyle and Luton have been worse this season.

But with the Hatters falling further and further behind at the Hawthorns – they rallied to limit the damage to 5-3 – Hull could bock out other results. It just boiled down to whether they could avoid defeat.

Gelhardt had more chances for a second either side of the equaliser, but was tackled by Shaughnessy after bursting through the middle – Pedro put the loose ball wide – and his next shot struck his nemesis.

Soon both would be substituted.

Hull brought on centre-back Alfie Jones for centre-forward Pedro and went to 5-4-1 for the last 10 minutes, their intentions clear.

They did, though, force Ben Killip – who started the season at Barnsley – into a save when John Egan towered above the blue shorts at a corner.

That was in the 90th minute but with lengthy treatment for Crooks as Hull at one point readied a concussion substitute only for him to come back on, there were still seven to play.

There had been a couple of bursts of "We are staying up" from the away end as results went their team's way, but only in the last 60 seconds or so were the able to sing it with real feeling.

It should not have come to this, but at least they did the necessary when it came to it, having their moment in front of the away end while Portsmouth got ready for a lap of honour to celebrate a much happier season for them.

Portsmouth: Killip; Devlin, Shaughnessy (Poole 62), Atkinson, Ogilvie; Potts (Dozzell 72), Lang (Saydee HT); Blair (Ritchie 15) Pack (Hayden 72), Murphy; Bishop.

Unused substitutes: O’Mahony, Schmid, Gordon, Bramall.

Hull City: Pandur; L Coyle, Egan, Hughes, McLoughlin, Crooks, Puerta; Kamara (Lincoln 62), Gelhardt (Palmer 62), Joseph (Burstow 70); Pedro (Jones 80).

Unused substitutes: Burns, Alzate, Drameh, Lo-Tutala, Amrabat.

Referee: J Busby (Oxfordshire).