City: Simonsen, Hoefkens, Fortune, Higginbotham, Griffin, Lawrence, Matteo, Eustace (Russell, 64), Hendrie (Martin, 87), Fuller, Sidibe (Pericard 79).Subs Not Used: Hoult, Zakuani.

Hull: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Delaney, Dawson, Parlour (Parkin, 70), Ashbee, Peltier (Marney, 22), Forster, Windass, McPhee (Barmby, 65).Subs Not Used: Duke, Coles.

Last-minute heartache again!  Last week Cardiff, and this week Hull joined the already long list of sides who have denied the Potters at the death, when Nick Barmby equalised in time added-on.

If City fans had thought that they had suffered the unkindest cut of all enough this season, they were wrong as they watched their side their side concede a late goal for the fifth time since the turn of the year.

Neither the team nor the fans will need reminding of how costly these last-gasp lapses have been.

After ninety minutes City were leading one-nil and lying fourth in the table. Two minutes later they were eighth but as Brain Clough used to say, it only takes second to score a goal, and yet again it was the opposition who scored it.  On such cruel twists of fortune are a season's hopes fulfilled or dashed.

And to compound the misery, as at Ninian Park City had spurned a great opportunity to score a second and kill off the match before the equaliser.

A rather scrappy first half ended with a Liam Lawrence goal, but in the second period the Potters missed not one but three good opportunities of sealing victory.

City were able to name Andy Griffin, Lee Hendrie and Mamady Sidibe in the starting eleven as Tony Pulis made three changes from the side which did duty at Cardiff.

Both sides were desperate for a win for different reasons as the season entered its climax, with visitors Hull starting the match with the same number of points as third-from-bottom Leeds.

They fielded three strikers in a positive-looking formation, including ex-Vale player Steve McPhee, but omitting recent City loanee Jon Parkin,  In front of an expectant crowd, Hull looked up for the battle, playing direct and energetic football and should have taken the lead after ten minutes when Forster's hard low cross from the right was met by Windass, whose first time shot passed inches over the bar.

The Tigers continued to look positive, with former Arsenal man Ray Parlour prominent in the early stages.

It was Hull who were playing with more tempo, but City should have done better when they failed to take advantage of a quick free-kick on the right after eighteen minutes. Unfortunately, nobody was on hand to take advantage of Lee Hendrie's quick thinking.

It was Hendrie who turned provider again five minutes later when his right-wing corner, the first of the game, picked out Danny Higginbotham, whose powerful header seemed bound for the back of the net until Boaz Myhill brilliantly tipped the pile-driver over the bar.

Another header from the skipper from City's third corner passed wide of the post after twenty-six minutes as City finally managed to get balls into the penalty area.

It was then the visitors' turn to put in a couple of dangerous corners, with McPhee' shot deflected over the bar as the Potters continued to struggle to make chances from open play and Hull continued to chase and harry to good effect.It clearly turning out to be one of those days when we were going to have to be patient.

Myhill had to be alert and rush out of his goal to collect as Fuller twice raced onto through balls just before half-time, and Andy Griffin shot wide after good work from Fuller in time added-on, but it looked as if it was going to be a blank half-time scoreline before the Potters struck with a rather fortunate goal after forty-eight minutes when a Liam Lawrence left-foot shot from the right took a deflection off left-back Andy Dawson, and looped into the net over the desperately back-pedalling Myhill.

It was hardly a classic goal, but an absolutely vital one in the context of a match in which the home side had failed to stamp their authority on the play.

The Potters should have doubled their lead three minutes into the second half, when Griffin's ball into the box left Fuller unmarked with a chance to volley from ten yards out. He put plenty of power behind his attempt but not quite enough direction and the ball crashed against the crossbar and cannoned to safety.

For the opening quarter of an hour of the half, City couldn't keep possession for long enough to create another opportunity and had a let-off after fifty-six minutes when they backed off to allow Parlour to put in a dipping twenty-yard shot which Steve Simonsen did well to tip over the bar.

It was a warning that they could not afford to retreat too much, especially after they almost gave away the lead again.   Fortunately, when Forster put the ball into the net after charging down Simonen's clearance, he was pulled up for hands.

City were living too dangerously, and Darel Russell was called on for John Eustace after sixty-four minutes in the attempt to inject more positive running into midfield.

Hull responded by putting on former England international Nick Barmby for McPhee, and then Parkin for Parlour, but before Parkin could touch the ball, City again should have scored a second.

Hendrie, unmarked twelve yards out,  somehow managed to miss the target after Fuller had broken away down the right and squared the ball into the middle.  It was a case of deja-vu after last week, and the miss was to prove costly.

Fuller, as ever, looked the most likely City player to score or create a goal, but Hull, fighting for their lives, were doughty opponents and belying their lowly league position.

But with the Tigers committing men forward and the game opening up, a second City goal almost came after seventy-three minutes when Sidibe's header from Lawrence's cross was cleared almost off the line and Russell just failed to put away the loose ball.

As a tense finale beckoned. Vincent Pericard replaced the brave Sidibe, who had again run his legs off and endured some rough treatment in his side's cause.

Fuller shot wide from a narrow angle when a pass to the unmarked Lawrence would have been the better option, but after seeing his colleagues miss such chances before, his decision was perhaps to be expected.

A Barmby header flew narrowly over the bar as both sets of fans had their nerves tested to the limit and finger-nails were bitten to the bone.

Lee Martin replaced Hendrie, who had looked rusty after his lay-off, as City aimed to keep possession for the four minutes of time added on, but after just one minute, they conceded the crucial goal when they failed to clear a cross from Damien Delaney and Barmby knocked the loose ball into the net.

It was a cruel blow, but they had only themselves to blame for not taking their chances, and the impartial observer would probably have said that the visitors deserved something for their determined efforts.

All is by no means lost, and the side will keep going to the end, but the team's fate is no longer in their own hands.  All they can do is to remain positive and go all out for six points from the two remaining fixtures, starting with what should be a rousing fixture against surprise package Colchester next Saturday.

Bob James