Stojkovic a worry for Ferguson

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Wigan Athletic 2 Hull City 2: ALEX FERGUSON admits he is “clutching at straws” in the hope Manchester…

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE Wigan Athletic 2 Hull City 2:ALEX FERGUSON admits he is "clutching at straws" in the hope Manchester United can overtake Chelsea on the final bend of the season. He may have to lower those expectations should Vladimir Stojkovic stand between the Wigan posts and the destiny of the Premier League trophy at Stamford Bridge next Sunday.

The Serbia international goalkeeper produced an erratic display in the absence of the injured Chris Kirkland as Hull City’s relegation was mathematically sealed in stoppage time at the DW Stadium.

Despite needing a six-point and 24-goal swing over West Ham United to avoid the drop before kick-off, Iain Dowie’s team refused to cower and should have taken survival to the final day with their first away win since March 2009.

Headed goals by Will Atkinson and Mark Cullen placed Hull on the verge of their first away win for 425 days. A slip by Cullen on Hull’s final counterattack with Stojkovic stranded inside the wrong penalty area from a corner, led eventually to Steve Gohouri relegating the visitors with a close-range overhead kick. “That is the nature of this harsh league. It is galling,” said Dowie.

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Regardless of their predetermined fate, Hull reacted to Wigan’s cruel equaliser with a collective bout of despair. It was not difficult to imagine Ferguson doing likewise in front of his TV during proceedings. Wigan, and Stojkovic, offered little to suggest the coronation of Carlo Ancelotti’s team as champions will be spoiled in west London next weekend.

Robert Martinez’s men had suggested the opposite in a vibrant opening that brought Victor Moses a first Wigan goal. The winger cut inside two defenders and sent a measured finish in off Matt Duke’s far post having been sent clear after a mistake by George Boateng.

But it was Stojkovic’s errors that altered the game’s course.

The Wigan goalkeeper, once released from a trial with Everton after a single training session, had already spread unease through his defence when he needlessly punched a Boateng cross into the path of Kevin Kilbane. Two Hull strikers were offside when Kilbane crossed into the area but Atkinson arrived from an onside position to head beyond the static Serb.

“Vlad is still coming to terms with the English game,” said Martinez. “He has a different style and it is unfair the way we react to him at times.”

Hull’s second goal looked offside but there was no flag as Cullen ghosted in behind Mario Melchiot to glance another Boateng cross past Stojkovic.

The ironic cheers whenever the Wigan keeper caught a cross – from his own fans – must have sounded like a death-knell to Ferguson. Dowie said: “My future is for people who are much more erudite than me to discuss. Adam Pearson [the Hull chairman] knows how to run a football club and he is working on the financial difficulties first. Mine and the players’ futures are secondary to that.”

Guardian Service

WIGAN ATHLETIC: Stojkovic, Melchiot, Caldwell, Gohouri, Figueroa, Diame (Scharner 82), McCarthy (Sinclair 65), Gomez (Scotland 79), Watson, Moses, Rodallega. Subs not used: Pollitt, Thomas, Boyce, Mostoe. Booked: Gohouri, Melchiot.

HULL CITY: Duke, Mendy, Mouyokolo, Gardner, Dawson, Atkinson, Cairney, Boateng, Kilbane, Vennegoor of Hesselink (Folan 70), Cullen. Subs not used: Myhill, Fagan, Barmby, Geovanni, Cooper, Olofinjana.

Referee: Phil Dowd(Staffordshire).