HULL City's bid to clinch automatic promotion out of the Championship will be decided on the final day of the season after tumbling to a 2-0 defeat at Barnsley this afternoon.
Despite knowing a victory at Oakwell would confirm their Premier League return, the Tigers were soundly beaten by a Barnsley side fighting relegation to League One.
Goals early in each half from Jacob Mellis and Chris O'Grady were enough to condemn an insipid City to defeat and transform a potentially momentous afternoon into a desperately deflating one.
Now three games without a win, Steve Bruce's men must find a victory over title-winners Cardiff next weekend to keep third-placed Watford at bay in the most tense finale imaginable.
However, with the Tigers a shadow of the side that has spent the majority of 2013 inside the top two, all hope of climbing back into the top-flight are resting on a knife-edge.
City's challenge could not have been clear ahead of kick-off. Win and a place in the Premier League would be sealed, but the Tigers' task looked anything but straightforward after going a goal down inside the opening four minutes.
Barnsley, who needed a positive result of their own in a fight for Championship survival, showed few signs of anxiety and snatched the initiative with a moment of sheer brilliance.
Chris O'Grady's threaded ball through to Jacob Mellis left the midfielder with plenty to do when pushed wide, but a magnificent right-foot drive made a mockery of the tight angles. In off the crossbar, David Stockdale did not have a prayer.
City almost grabbed an equaliser within two minutes when George Boyd's lob over Luke Steele was cleared by the covering Tom Kennedy, but from there it was an alarmingly limp attacking performance from the visitors.
Although Robbie Brady and Boyd both tried their luck with decent shots from outside the box, Steele was comfortable throughout the opening half that Barnsley ruled by their relentless endeavour.
Quicker to almost every loose ball, the Tykes were everything that City were not in the South Yorkshire sunshine. Barnsley almost doubled their lead late in the first half when Rueben Noble-Lazarus was unforgivably allowed to gallop towards the City goal, but his low shot was narrowly off target.
City's travelling support attempted to rally their struggling side at the break and Bruce responded by replacing Boyd with Jay Simpson.
Paul McShane, back for the injured Jack Hobbs, came close when connecting with Brady's inswinging free-kick, but any hope of a comeback was dealt a heavy blow when Barnsley doubled their advantage five minutes into the second half.
Failing to clear Chris Dagnall's run towards goal, the loose ball was pounced upon by O'Grady and drilled across Stockdale first time. While Barnsley boss David Flitcroft leaped in the air, Bruce turned to face his bench with sunken shoulders.
On came Nick Proschwitz, replacing the out-of-sorts Matty Fryatt, with half an hour to play, but City's fortunes rarely looked like turning around in front of 5,909 stunned away fans. A dearth of creativity coupled with fast-fading energy levels made for an inexplicably flat City performance.
The Tigers' stark failings made it an all too comfortable conclusion for the Tykes. Only two headed chances for Proschwitz, both tough, ever threatened a lifeline, before McShane's diving effort followed suit when missing the target.
City's deflation was clear upon the full-time whistle and a reaction is now a must when Cardiff visit the KC Stadium next Saturday. With Watford at home to Leeds United, anything less than a win could see the Tigers condemned to the play-offs.
Despite knowing a victory at Oakwell would confirm their Premier League return, the Tigers were soundly beaten by a Barnsley side fighting relegation to League One.
Goals early in each half from Jacob Mellis and Chris O'Grady were enough to condemn an insipid City to defeat and transform a potentially momentous afternoon into a desperately deflating one.
Now three games without a win, Steve Bruce's men must find a victory over title-winners Cardiff next weekend to keep third-placed Watford at bay in the most tense finale imaginable.
However, with the Tigers a shadow of the side that has spent the majority of 2013 inside the top two, all hope of climbing back into the top-flight are resting on a knife-edge.
City's challenge could not have been clear ahead of kick-off. Win and a place in the Premier League would be sealed, but the Tigers' task looked anything but straightforward after going a goal down inside the opening four minutes.
Barnsley, who needed a positive result of their own in a fight for Championship survival, showed few signs of anxiety and snatched the initiative with a moment of sheer brilliance.
Chris O'Grady's threaded ball through to Jacob Mellis left the midfielder with plenty to do when pushed wide, but a magnificent right-foot drive made a mockery of the tight angles. In off the crossbar, David Stockdale did not have a prayer.
City almost grabbed an equaliser within two minutes when George Boyd's lob over Luke Steele was cleared by the covering Tom Kennedy, but from there it was an alarmingly limp attacking performance from the visitors.
Although Robbie Brady and Boyd both tried their luck with decent shots from outside the box, Steele was comfortable throughout the opening half that Barnsley ruled by their relentless endeavour.
Quicker to almost every loose ball, the Tykes were everything that City were not in the South Yorkshire sunshine. Barnsley almost doubled their lead late in the first half when Rueben Noble-Lazarus was unforgivably allowed to gallop towards the City goal, but his low shot was narrowly off target.
City's travelling support attempted to rally their struggling side at the break and Bruce responded by replacing Boyd with Jay Simpson.
Paul McShane, back for the injured Jack Hobbs, came close when connecting with Brady's inswinging free-kick, but any hope of a comeback was dealt a heavy blow when Barnsley doubled their advantage five minutes into the second half.
Failing to clear Chris Dagnall's run towards goal, the loose ball was pounced upon by O'Grady and drilled across Stockdale first time. While Barnsley boss David Flitcroft leaped in the air, Bruce turned to face his bench with sunken shoulders.
On came Nick Proschwitz, replacing the out-of-sorts Matty Fryatt, with half an hour to play, but City's fortunes rarely looked like turning around in front of 5,909 stunned away fans. A dearth of creativity coupled with fast-fading energy levels made for an inexplicably flat City performance.
The Tigers' stark failings made it an all too comfortable conclusion for the Tykes. Only two headed chances for Proschwitz, both tough, ever threatened a lifeline, before McShane's diving effort followed suit when missing the target.
City's deflation was clear upon the full-time whistle and a reaction is now a must when Cardiff visit the KC Stadium next Saturday. With Watford at home to Leeds United, anything less than a win could see the Tigers condemned to the play-offs.
• Reaction from fans and Steve Bruce
