Hull City: Championship to Europe in Two Seasons

Steve Bruce signed a host of players heading into the 2013/14 Premier League campaign. The signings of Allan McGregor, Steve Harper, Maynor Figueroa, George Boyd, Tom Huddlestone and Yannick Sagbo as well as the loan signings of Jake Livermore and Danny Graham added to the squad that took The Tigers up in the summer.

The first game of the season threw City straight in at the deep end with a 2-0 loss at home to Chelsea on 18th August 2013.

The Tigers collected 23 points after the Chelsea game, from 18th August to 1st January, three days before our FA Cup journey began. In that time City had managed to pick up some memorable results, most notably a 3-1 win at home to Liverpool and beating Fulham 6-0 at home on December 28th.

FA Cup - Third Round

When Hull City fans and players turned up at Riverside to play Middlesbrough on 4th January 2014, nobody could have predicted the course of the next few months.

Aaron McLean and Nick Proschwitz scored either side of halftime to send City into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over the Championship side.

The next day City drew League Two Southend United away in the fourth round and were set to face former manger Phil Brown for the first time since he had left the club.

FA Cup Fourth Round

Between the third and fourth rounds of the cup, City lost both league games with a 2-0 loss to Chelsea again on the reverse fixture before falling to a 1-0 defeat away to Norwich City. On 25th January, Hull City travelled to Southend United for the fourth round. Matty Fryatt bagged a brace and City won 2-0 to head into the fifth round. January signings Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic were ineligible for this and future FA Cup matches due to having already played for West Brom and Everton respectively that season.

Following the win, Hull City were drawn to play away at Championship side Brighton in the fifth round.

FA Cup Fifth Round and Replay

In the four games between the fourth and fifth rounds, Steve Bruce's side picked up four points from as many games, including a 1-1 draw when Tottenham came to the KC Stadium.

The day before the match away at Brighton, the quarter final draw was done and if Hull City were able to beat Brighton then a home draw against Sunderland was waiting in the next round.

A Leonardo Ulloa goal was all that separated the two sides heading into the closing stages of the match but a Yannick Sagbo goal in the 85th minute was enough to bring a fifth round replay to the KC Stadium.

In the replay on 24th February 2014, Ulloa scored again but it was only a consolation after first half goals from Sone Aluko and Robert Koren secured a 2-1 win to send The Tigers into the next round.

FA Cup Quarter Final

In the one league game between the two rounds, City were beaten 4-1 at home by Newcastle on 1st March 2014.

The hotly contested quarter final on 9th March 2014 was settled by a nine-minute blitz from The Tigers starting in the 68th minute when Curtis Davies broke the deadlock. Just four minutes later David Meyler raced clear and doubled the lead to put Sunderland further away from the next round. The game was settled another four minutes later when Matty Fryatt bagged City's third of the game to complete the ten minute rout.

Immediately after the conclusion of the match and a Yorkshire derby semi-final was set with Sheffield United to be The Tigers opponents.

It was the first time Hull City had been in an FA Cup semi-final since 1930 when City went out to a 1-0 replay loss to Arsenal, having drawn 2-2 at the first attempt.

FA Cup Semi-Final

In the five Premier League games before the semi-final, City won twice by beating West Brom and Swansea City but lost the other three games to Manchester City, West Ham and Stoke City.

City's first Wembley appearance since the 2007/08 promotion is a day that no Tigers fans will forget.

20 minutes into the game Sheffield United broke the deadlock through Jose Baxter. Yannick Sagbo levelled the game just before halftime but that wasn't enough as Stefan Scougall restored United's lead going into halftime.

The game was turned on its head in the second half with substitute Matty Fryatt scoring and Tom Huddlestone scoring a fantastic solo effort to put City 3-2 just 10 minutes into the second half.

Steve Bruce made another inspired substitution as Stephen Quinn came on and put City two goals to the good 67 minutes in.

Jamie Murphy's late goal set the game up for a close finish but in the 93rd minute when David Meyler raced onto a ball and finished to end the game at 5-3 and send Hull City to the FA Cup Final for the first ever time.

FA Cup Final

In the five final league games before the final, City picked up a solitary point, a 2-2 draw away at Fulham to end the season on 37 points in 16th position, just four points off the drop.

17th May 2014. FA Cup Final Day.

Four minutes into City's first ever FA Cup Final, James Chester scored to put The Tigers 1-0 up. Tom Huddlestone's volley ended up at Chester's feet and he was able to poke home.

Four minutes later and the lead had been doubled. A freekick was parried away by Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski into the path of Curtis Davies and he took the opportunity to give City a 2-0 lead.

All three starting centre backs could and should have scored moments later but Alex Bruce's header was cleared off the line by Kieran Gibbs.

City were made to pay for not scoring when 16 minutes in Santi Cazorla grabbed one back for Arsenal. His freekick flew over the Tigers wall and into the net with Allan McGregor only managing to get fingertips to it.

In the second half Arsenal had to wait until the 71st minute to level the scores when Laurent Koscielny bundled a ball over the line after a very dubious corner had been given to Arsenal.

It took extra time for a winner to be found and in the 109th minute Aaron Ramsey fired home a flick from Olivier Giroud to win the FA Cup for Arsenal.

What could have been. On reflection there are many things that could and should have happened on the day. If Alex Bruce had scored. If a goalkick had been given rather than a corner. There are so many ifs and buts, regardless, the achievement of a newly promoted side going all the way to the FA Cup Final is unbelievable. They may not have won but those players are heroes in the eyes of many Hull City fans.

But the fantastic journey City were on was not over. Because Arsenal had qualified for the Champions League via their league position, it meant that Hull City would enter the Europa League at the third qualifying round, City's first venture into European football.

Europa League Adventure

Steve Bruce's Hull City side drew FK AS Trencin who had qualified by finishing second in the Slovak Super Liga.

The first leg, away, finished 0-0 after Tom Huddlestone missed his penalty and then fired the rebound over.

In the return leg at the KC, City has to come back from a goal down and goals from Ahmed Elmohamady and Sone Aluko sent The Tigers into the next round.

In the playoff round The Tigers drew Belgian side Lokeren who had qualified through winning the 2013/14 Belgian Cup.

The first leg, away resulted in a 1-0 loss after an error from goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

City won the home leg 2-1 courtesy of a Robbie Brady brace but due to the away goals rule were eliminated from the competition.

The short lived European adventure was over, but no fan could have predicted the rollercoaster they were about to go on when The Tigers lined up to face Cardiff City just over year before.