HEAVEN AND HULL

Palace in wonderland as Big Sam seals another great escape but Tigers pay price for travel sickness

THE Housemartins got it all about-face as Hull slipped quietly into the Championship.

The pre-match rendition of Happy Hour proved music to the ears of only Crystal Palace and Swansea fans. And the following 90 minutes proved a stark reversal of the Humberside band’s 1986 debut album title: London 0 Hull 4. Selhurst Park witnessed South London 4 Hull 0 – a crushing defeat which guaranteed the Eagles and Swans stay up, and summed up the Tigers’ chaotic season. Instead of gripping tension in a billed relegation showdown, Italian defender Andrea Ranocchia’s early howler allowed Wilfried Zaha to run through and score with 133 seconds on the clock. Even then, it was odds on that Zaha would be able to share a moment celebrating after the final whistle with his son (right). Christian Benteke bullied his way to his 17th goal of the campaign, heading home after 34 minutes. It was all done and dusted long before Palace’s two late goals as hapless Hull failed to register a shot on target. After starting his job two weeks before Marco Silva in December, Sam Allardyce had the local knowledge to preserve his proud record of never being relegated from the top flight, after inheriting a side in 17th place. Big Sam and Paul Clement, at Swansea, ultimately had the English nous to save their clubs while the Portuguese failed. Silva won six Premier League games at the KC Stadium, yet picked up only two points from nine away outings. Hull finished the season with a meagre six points from 19 games on the road – the worst at the top level. Their fate was really sealed with the home defeat by Sunderland and they have failed to score in their last three games when the pressure intensified. Silva admitted: “It’s still a challenge I’ve had in my hands since I came here. “We need to have a different mentality in some games away from home. You need to be calm in some games, in a different atmosphere. “We did try to change it. The early goal made everything more difficult because we’d prepared for a final, and then we made a mistake so soon. “We gave them a goal and everything was easy for them after that. They played on our mistakes.” All three of Big Sam’s January signings helped sealed a priceless victory with the late goals. Luka Milivojevic rolled home a penalty when Michael Dawson felled Jeffrey Schlupp. Then Patrick van Aanholt slotted the fourth from a pass by fellow sub James Mcarthur. Allardyce said: “The acquisition of the players made us better defensively, which was the weakest part of the team. “They were conceding so many goals, so we had to start with that base. The signings increased the confidence and we stopped conceding