Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ruben Selles' Hull City survived in the Championship on goal difference Hull City achieved Championship survival on the final day of the season with a draw at Portsmouth Ruben Selles' side stay up on goal difference after finishing level on points with Luton Town who go down to League One after defeat at West Bromwich Albion Hull took the lead after an encouraging start Matt Crooks firing home from close range to drag them out of the relegation zone But Portsmouth started the second half well and equalised from a powerful Christian Saydee strike that put the Tigers' second-tier status back in peril a point was enough with Luton losing 5-3 at The Hawthorns This season was Portsmouth's first campaign back in the second tier since 2012 and the point on the final day confirmed a 16th-place finish on 54 points Hull took the lead in the first half thanks to Matt Crooks Hull threatened with a number of long throws into the box early on and one of them nearly resulted in a goal as the ball bounced around with players wrestling for control before it dropped behind past the post Their fast start was rewarded in the 18th minute as Gustavo Puerta whipped in a corner that was met by Crooks who smashed it in on the volley with his left foot from close range The visitors nearly doubled their lead as Joe Gelhardt forced his way into the box making defender Conor Shaughnessy produce a fine block to keep it at 1-0 Hull continued to threaten Portsmouth with their direct play At times these were nervously dealt with by Portsmouth keeper Ben Killip who was making just his second start since joining the Blues in February Portsmouth had an encouraging start to the second period as Freddie Potts had an effort blocked after some nice play between Connor Ogilvie and Josh Murphy down the left The home side then levelled with a beautiful flowing move as Matt Ritchie stepped over a pass letting it run behind for Saydee who fired a powerful shot into the net from a tight angle Hull kept Pompey at bay and came close to regaining the lead John Egan rising at the back post and sending a header towards goal that looked to be going in but was well saved by Killip a draw ultimately being enough for them to retain their Championship status Hull City boss Ruben Selles speaking to BBC Radio Humberside: "I'm very proud of the courage and the way the players managed the game on the pitch "Everyone in the club managed difficult moments and it has been a tough season for everyone and we deserved to stay in the division "We had a team that was rock bottom and to achieve the target this season with all the injuries and everything else is just massive "Now it's over and we crossed the line we can rest a little bit and I told the players that we will remember this day for years to come." Portsmouth boss John Mousinho speaking to BBC Radio Solent: "It was important to stay unbeaten towards the back end of the season and five unbeaten is a good return The performance today was awful for 20 minutes but I guess some of it can be expected "The progress this season is a really good sign of where we are as a club and a fantastic achievement - everyone can be very proud of what we have done "But football doesn't wait for anyone but for now we can take a break from the relentlessness." To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made substituted for Lincoln at 62 minutesNumber 12 Palmer Match OfficialsReferee: John BusbyAssistant Referee 1: Mark RussellAssistant Referee 2: Matthew SmithFourth Official: Sam MulhallMatch StatsKey Scroll LeftScroll RightPortsmouth have lost two of their last three home league games against Hull City (W1) one more defeat than across their 14 meetings at Fratton Park (W5 D8) Hull City have won two of their last six league games against Portsmouth (D1 L3) with the pair drawing the reverse fixture 1-1 back in November last year This will be the first time that Portsmouth have finished a league campaign in the second tier at home since a 3-0 victory over Barnsley at Fratton Park in May 2001 Hull have won just one of their 20 final games of a league campaign (D8 L11) a 5-1 home victory over Rotherham United in May 2016 Portsmouth have won just one of their seven league games against sides from Yorkshire this season (D4 L2); they last faced sides from the county as many times with as few wins during the 1960-61 season (one win in eight) Connor Ogilvie (Portsmouth) header from the centre of the box is too high Rob Atkinson (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half Fourth official has announced 7 minutes of added time Terry Devlin (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half John Egan (Hull City) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal Kasey Palmer (Hull City) wins a free kick on the left wing Delay in match because of an injury Matt Crooks (Hull City) Connor Ogilvie (Portsmouth) wins a free kick in the defensive half Win HappyPremiumSearch Rayogreatest hitssouth coastnewsOfficers are appealing for witnesses after an assault in Southsea33-year-old man arrested following an investigation into assault in Southsea Officers investigating an assault are appealing for witnesses after an assault took place in Southsea yesterday At around 7:20pm on Saturday evening (3rd May) the 30-year old victim was chased by another man armed with an extendable baton on Albert Road It was also reported that he tried to throw acid at the victim As part of an investigation carried out by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police a 33-year old man from Southsea was arrested on suspicion of attempted wounding with intent and witnesses of the incident to come forward with any information they may have Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app. Matt Crooks’ 18th-minute effort was cancelled out by Christian Saydee’s second-half strike, but a point was enough to avoid relegation as the Tigers finished above third-bottom Luton Town on goal difference. “It feels incredible. It feels amazing,” said Sellés. “It has been a really difficult season. From the first moment we arrived, our target has always been to keep the team in the division, to build a good platform for next season. “We didn’t want to do it on the last day. We hoped we could do it before. “I’m proud of everyone, putting everything they have into the game. We went 1-0 up, then they equalise. Knowing the other results, (it was about) just managing the tempo of the game. “Today was one of those days that you need to show that you can cope with the pressure. The boys did it amazingly. “The fans were absolutely outstanding and that’s why, at the end, it was important we remember to enjoy those celebrations with them because as much as we feel that pain, they’ve been feeling that pain. “It was an unbelievable feeling.” Assessing the game and performance, Sellés said: “We started like the team that needed to win the game. We went 1-0 up and for the first 25-30 minutes, we were on top of the game. “After that, it’s always difficult on a day like today because you have something to protect. We made that step back and stopped controlling the balls like we had been doing. “We paid the price at the beginning of the second half with the goal we conceded. After that, the game was a little bit of territory for them. “For us, with the other results, we knew they were going in our way. We were just managing the tempo of the game. “In the last 10 minutes, because of the Luton result, I decided to shut it down, go to a 5-4-1 and then defend the goal. “I knew from set-pieces the team was very dangerous – John (Egan) almost scored that one. “If we have that back five with Alfie (Jones) there, four players in front and Kasey (Palmer), Mason (Burstow) and Lincoln applying the pressure, it would be difficult for them to break us.” Individual match passes are priced at £10 with audio commentary available to all supporters and included in a Tigers Plus video-on-demand subscription for £5.99 per month Monthly audio passes are priced at £4.50 per month Supporters must register an account on Tigers Plus to buy video and audio subscription passes. For support, please email streamsupport@wearehullcity.co.uk. You can follow all the action via our Match Centre on our website and app, with regular updates on social media and post-match interviews and highlights on Tigers Plus. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The Tigers knew victory would guarantee safety and took an 18th-minute lead when Matt Crooks volleyed home from close range after Gustavo Puerta’s corner was flicked on by João Pedro. Already-safe Pompey levelled through substitute Christian Saydee’s second-half strike, but Luton Town’s 5-3 defeat at West Bromwich Albion meant a point was enough to preserve City’s second-tier status. Rubén Sellés’ side finish a challenging 2024/25 campaign just one place above the relegation zone, level on points with third-bottom Luton, but with a goal difference superior by 14. Crooks and Pedro started in place of the injured Regan Slater and benched Nordin Amrabat, as the boss made two changes from the defeat to Derby County. City were backed by over 2,100 vocal supporters on the south coast, many of whom had set off at 4am on 17 Tiger Travel coaches, provided free of charge by chairman Acun Ilıcalı. Below the dotted line at kick-off and requiring a positive result, the Tigers were the aggressors in the early exchanges and created two chances inside the first eight minutes. Puerta’s long throw caused consternation in the Pompey defence, Kyle Joseph determinedly helping the ball on for Crooks, but home keeper Ben Killip was brave and smothered his close-range effort. Lewie Coyle then lined up a left-footed curler from 16 yards that Killip palmed one handed around the post as the visitors showed plenty of attacking intent. City’s purposeful start was rewarded on 18 minutes when Puerta’s low inswinging corner was flicked on by Pedro at the near post for Crooks to slam the ball home from close range. Portsmouth started to come out of their shell, with Freddie Potts nodding Matt Ritchie’s far-post free-kick into Ivor Pandur’s arms and Sean McLoughlin’s well-timed challenge thwarting Callum Lang. Joe Gelhardt’s drive was blocked by Conor Shaughnessy just past the half-hour mark, while Ritchie lashed a half-volley over the angle from a long throw that was not cleared. Marlon Pack rose highest to meet Ritchie’s centre but failed to find the target and Lang’s deflected strike whistled past the post as Pompey pressed in the closing stages of the half. Portsmouth kept their foot on the pedal after the restart, with Potts’ deflected shot squirming through to a relieved Pandur. Gelhardt advanced forward promisingly but was halted by a home defender, the ball breaking for Pedro, but he was unable to apply the finish. John Mousinho’s men equalised 10 minutes into the second half when Saydee powered a fierce right-footed drive through Pandur at his near post. Another Gelhardt effort was blocked by Shaughnessy before Sellés turned to his bench just after the hour, bringing on Kasey Palmer and Lincoln for Gelhardt and ex-Blue Abu Kamara. Mason Burstow replaced Joseph 20 minutes from time, with the Tigers knowing a draw would be enough with Luton losing heavily at The Hawthorns, but the possession and pressure was mostly Portsmouth’s. Burstow bent an effort well wide from outside the box on a rare foray into Pompey territory, with Alfie Jones taking Pedro's place heading into the final 10 minutes. The Tigers almost snatched victory at the death when Lincoln’s free-kick was headed goalwards by John Egan and pushed away by Killip, with no one able to force the loose ball home. Connor Ogilvie headed over during seven nail-biting minutes of added time as City held on to secure survival, with players and staff celebrating euphorically afterwards in front of the jubilant travelling fans. Attendance: 20,420 (2,161 Hull City supporters). Extended highlights of Portsmouth vs Hull City are available on Tigers Plus Matt Crooks and João Pedro start in place of the injured Regan Slater and benched Nordin Amrabat for the Tigers’ date with destiny at Fratton Park City will be backed by more than 2,100 supporters on the south coast many of whom will have set off at 4am on Tiger Travel provided for free by chairman Acun Ilıcalı International supporters can watch the game live on Tigers Plus with individual match passes priced at £10 Audio commentary is available to all supporters and included within a Tigers Plus video-on-demand subscription for £5.99 per month Supporters must register an account on Tigers Plus to buy video and audio subscription passes. For support, please email streamsupport@wearehullcity.co.uk You can follow all the action via our Match Centre on our website and app with regular updates on social media and post-match interviews and highlights on Tigers Plus.