Premier League / maxliu / 08 November 2009 / Leave a comment

Injury time strike gives Tigers dramatic win and saves manager's job. For now...

"Hull remain [1.56] favourites for relegation and it will take more than one win for Brown to save his job. However, it would be harsh if new chairman Adam Pearson was to wield the axe after such a gutsy showing."

Hull City drifted to [20.0] as they came from a goal down to beat Stoke 2-1 at the KC Stadium.

With speculation rife that manager Phil Brown was one game away from the sack, the Humberside club gave their most spirited display of the season to climb out of the relegation zone.

Hull remain [1.56] favourites in Betfair's relegation market and it will take more than one win for Brown to save his job. However, it would be harsh if new chairman Adam Pearson was to wield the axe after such a gutsy showing.

Things looked ominous for Brown and Hull when Stoke broke upfield after half an hour and Matthew Etherington took the ball into the penalty area before firing a powerful shot inside Matt Duke's near post.

The rest of the half was frenetic but Hull struggled against Stoke's busy midfielders - record signing Jimmy Bullard was virtually anonymous. However, with the half-time introduction of Nick Barmby the homeside played with increasing conviction and when Olfinjana swept a curling shot past Thomas Sorensen, they deserved to be level.

The draw traded at [1.17] and a point-a-piece would have been a fair result but after Abdoulaye Faye was sent off with five minutes, Hull rallied in search of the win.

In injury time, Bullard made his first significant contribution of the game when he stepped inside before unleashing a shot which Sorensen could only parry. Vennegoor of Hesselink followed to tap the rebound into an empty net and send the home fans wild.

West Ham United now sit below Hull in 18th place. They returned to relegation zone after their 1-2 defeat to Everton, who traded at [3.3], at Upton Park. The Hammers are at [5.1] for the drop.

Fulham have goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to thank for the point they earned against Wigan at the DW stadium. The draw was matched at [5.0] while 1-1 touched [8.4].

Tags: Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Phil Brown, Premier League football betting, Stoke City, West Ham United, Wigan