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.

Star man: Gareth Ainsworth (QPR)

Player ratings. Hull City: Myhill 5, Ricketts 6, Turner 6, Brown 4, Dawson 6, Garcia 4, (Hughes 54min, 5) Ashbee 6, Marney 6, Pedersen 5 (Folan 61min), Windass 6 (Fagan 75min), Campbell 8
QPR: Camp 6, Mancienne 7, Stewart 6, Hall 7, Delaney 6, Ephraim 7, Mahon 6, Ainsworth 8 (Connolly 90min), Rowlands 6, Agyemang 7 (Balanta 81min), Blackstock 6 (Leigertwood 56min, 5)

Scorers: Hull: Turner 90
QPR: Blackstock 14

Referee: G Laws

Attendance: 22,468