Sunday Times

A strange affair was played out at the KC Stadium yesterday. There was so much confusion surrounding Queen's Park Rangers' goal that even their manager, Luigi de Canio, expressed his doubts.

"I was shown the pictures and I think we were quite lucky. I would say that overall we deserved a draw because we did try to play football throughout."

Hull City manager Phil Brown was at a loss to explain the goal award. "We've kept clean sheets in our last four games and we did today. It was a great save and some poor defending by us, but Andy Dawson hoofed it off the line and the linesman said it was over. How could he be certain from that far away?"

Even so, Rangers dominated large portions of this game and were probably worth all three points. True, Hull's goal was well-worked and beyond dispute, but it came on top of a laboured performance, hardly one for Hull to take strength from regarding their Premier League challenge. But it did demonstrate the influence of Fraizer Campbell, who played a key part in engineering their stoppage-time equaliser.

For large parts of a fairly sterile encounter, Rangers dominated. Gareth Ainsworth ran the show until Campbell was able to assert his influence. "We showed more bottle to get the ball down in the second half," said Brown.

There is a real feeling that Brown has cobbled together a winning combination. There are many factors in the Tigers' rise, but there is no doubting the role of Campbell, a loanee from Manchester United. With 14 goals this season he, along with 39-year-old Dean Windass, has created a potent strike threat.

Ian Ashbee tried to fire up City from the outset with some deft passing from midfield, but it soon became obvious that the Tigers lacked their usual roar. It was Ainsworth who dictated the early terms with a neat header and a subtle ball to Patrick Agyemang, which Bo Myhill did well to hang on to.

In the 14th minute came confusion in the Hull penalty box. Myhill could only parry Wayne Brown's header on to the post and Dexter Blackstock was on hand to stab at a loose ball. The linesman ruled that it had crossed the line and in near silence Hull trooped back to the middle, 1-0 down.

Myhill's clearance work had looked nervous from the start and Rangers peppered him with opportunist shots. Wayne Brown also looked shaky and Agyemang's pace unsettled him. Then a gallop down the right from Michael Mancienne caused panic in the Hull ranks until Myhill took command.

The only serious Hull incursion up to this point was an Andy Dawson free kick that Lee Camp turned over the crossbar. The Tigers were playing without method or composure and they had little answer to Ainsworth's pace. When Campbell was nudged over in Rangers' penalty area, Windass and Dean Marney were incensed at getting no award, probably because at that juncture it offered Hull's only route to a score.

City began the second half by playing the ball along the ground and Campbell immediately looked more of a danger, forcing Lee Camp into a last-ditch save from his header. But salvation for Hull was at hand.

The tireless Campbell ran the ball down the inside right channel and fed the ball to Folan. For once his cross cleared the Rangers back line and Michael Turner was on hand to scoop the ball past Camp for a precious equaliser.

The People

Michael Turner handed the Tigers a get-out-of-jail card with an equaliser as disappointed home fans were heading for the exits.

Ruthless Hull looked to be down and out after a first-half goal from visiting striker Dexter Blackstock but Turner struck in injury-time.

Caleb Folan got away down the right and when the cross came in, the Hull defender popped up in exactly the right place.

It was a goal that prevented the Tigers from slipping to a fourth home defeat of the season, and keeps alive the dream of automatic promotion with games at Barnsley and Sheffield United to come.

Former Bolton and Newcastle chief Sam Allardyce, an old pal of Hull boss Phil Brown, was among a crowd of over 22,000 hoping to see the Tigers take a decisive step nearer the top flight for the first time in their 104-year history.

And ex-England manager Steve McClaren, a former Hull player, was also present sitting alongside Rangers supremo Flavio Briatore.

But there was little for the big names to get excited about in a low-key affair Hull were looking for their fifth home win on the bounce, a run that had produced 13 goals without reply.

But instead they started badly and fell away in a first-half performance that belied their lofty status.

Rangers were sharper from the word go and might have gone in front in the 10th minute when Gareth Ainsworth sent Patrick Agyemang clear, only for Bo Myhill to deny him a ninth goal since moving from Preston in January.

But Rangers fans only had three minutes longer to wait for the opening goal.

Not for the first time, the dangerous Hogan Ephraim got away down the left and Hull defender Wayne Brown almost turned the cross into his own net.

Myhill managed to keep the ball out but was helpless when the ensuing scramble ended with Blackstock bundling the ball in.

Ten minutes later Myhill did well to palm away another Ephraim cross but there was a fleeting moment of hope for Hull in the 25th minute.

A 20-yard free-kick from Andy Dawson looked to be heading for the top corner only for Lee Camp to claw the ball away.

Hull were denied a penalty when Fraizer Campbell went down under a challenge by Damion Stewart seven minutes later, but it was a rare moment of hope for the lacklustre home side.

The Tigers were little better at the start of the second half as Rangers dominated through Martin Rowland and Gavin Mahon.

Henrik Pedersen hit a 58th-minute chance over, but that was the signal for Hull to get up a head of steam.

Folan headed wide in the 69th minute and four minutes later Camp fumbled a free-kick from Dean Windass but recovered in time.

Campbell then broke free only to shoot into the side-netting and in the 81st minute he headed on only to see Camp save the close-range follow-up header from Folan.

Five minutes of added time handed Hull a precious lifeline.

Turner had gone up for a free-kick from Dawson and even though the ball was cleared the defender hung around to grab the equaliser.

The Times

Michael Turner struck a late equaliser to salvage a crucial draw for promotion-chasing Hull City.

Luigi De Canio, the Queens Park Rangers first-team coach, admitted that his team had been lucky with Dexter Blackstock's controversial opener, which was deemed to have crossed the line by an assistant referee.

Phil Brown, the Hull manager, said: "There is no way on earth anyone can say for sure that the ball crossed the line."

But he was pleased with his side's efforts, adding: "We showed desire and determination and a bit of bottle to get the ball down a bit more in the second half. Our second-half performance was good enough to get something from the game, but we were not at our best."

The draw leaves Hull two points adrift of the automatic promotion places in fourth position in the table.