If Burnley's time in the Premier League had to come to an end, perhaps this was the perfect way to say goodbye: a plucky 1-0 win at Hull, earned by energy and application, that in the end wasn't quite enough. They were relegated with dignity, though, and having been sensible with their finances, they can look to the future safe in the knowledge that the foundations are secure.
Burnley showed just what can be achieved in the Premier League with heart and effort and not much money â good will, respect and relegation. A small squad was always likely, eventually, to run out of puff, and so it proved. Since beating Manchester City in the middle of March, a memory that will live in the history of the club, they not only hadn't won in six games, they had not even scored.
It may be that Hull follow them into the Championship. On a day when Sunderland, Aston Villa and Leicester City all won, they fell into the bottom three, two points behind Newcastle United and Sunderland, who have a game in hand.
Hull go to Tottenham next week and are at home to Manchester United on the final weekend of the season; both look tough games on paper, but the fact that neither Spurs nor United are in great form or have much left to play for offers a glimmer of hope.
Committed as they were, Burnley rode their luck. Twice Robbie Brady hit the bar, but Danny Ings fired in the only goal of the game after 62 minutes, the first goal Burnley had scored in 632 minutes of football, although Hull center-back Michael Dawson, having taken a blow to the face, was off the pitch changing his bloodied shirt. Without his aerial presence, Hull never quite got a corner clear and the ball bobbed about the box before it finally dropped for Ings 10 yards out.
While they accepted their fate in good humor, there was small-scale dissent among the home support. Midway through the first half, a small pocket of fans in the North Stand struck up with a chant of 'We Want Allam Out!' a reference to the club's owner Assem Allam, who has provoked controversy by seeking to change the name of the club from Hull City to Hull Tigers. The West Stand responded with boos - presumably feeling that energies at this stage should be focused on the relegation fight - prompting the North Stand to reply with 'That is Embarrassing!' The former Hull City striker Billy Whitehurst reiterated the need for unity in a rambling on-pitch interview at half-time.
Whether they were listening to the man widely acknowledged as the hardest player in English football in the eighties or whether events simply overtook them is hard to say, but until the boos at the final whistle, there was little audible opposition to the board after half-time. Instead, there was that most worrying atmosphere for any club: a sense of resignation, as though fans had simply accepted the worst.
It was a game of understandable scrappiness and anxiety. For long spells, very little happened. There were occasional neat interludes from both sides, spells of four or five passes, but rarely the threat of a final ball, an indication of the general lack of quality that has plagued both sides this season.
Such danger as Hull did present was channeled largely through Brady, the left wing-back. His crosses led to chances for Ahmed Elmohamady and Dame N'Doye early on and he hit the bar with 25-yard free-kicks in both halves. The second effort, in particular, was a superb strike, the ball bending and dipping as goalkeeper and defense watched on helplessly.
Burnley were as diligent as ever as Ashley Barnes went close with a mis-hit overhead kick and then just failed to get his head on a Matthew Taylor cross, that they really began to pose a threat. Steve Bruce, the Hull City manager, responded with a shift from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 12 minutes into the half, and that did stem the Burnley advance, but only after they had taken the lead.
Hull will feel they were unlucky - and in the way they conceded the goal they were - but, Brady's free-kicks aside, they lacked the wit and firepower to break down the second-worst side in the division. Burnley go down, but at least they do so with their fans in good voice having enjoyed a sixth win of the season. They have enjoyed the Premier League and the Premier League has enjoyed their side.
