A Hull City will play in an FA Cup semi-final for the first time in 84 years next month. They must wish they could play Sunderland every week.

For the third time this season, Steve Bruce masterminded victory over his former club and three goals in nine second-half minutes booked a last-four Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United at Wembley on April 12.

The victory sparked a pitch invasion and raucous cheers around the KC Stadium as Hull supporters celebrated the semi-final draw which kept them apart from Barclays Premier League heavyweights Arsenal.

Bruce said: ‘Managers, coaches, players come and go. The people you’re happy for are the supporters. It’s the 1930s since we were last in a semi-final and I can’t see many making trip who were there for that one. Let’s enjoy it. I hope we make it a fantastic occasion for them. A big Yorkshire derby at Wembley will be terrific.’

There is to be no Wembley return for Gus Poyet’s Sunderland side who were a shadow of the team that gave Manchester City a Capital One Cup final scare a week earlier and restored some pride and optimism to Wearside.

The Sunderland manager made six changes to his Wembley side, and lived to regret a decision described on Twitter as ‘an insult to travelling supporters’ by the A Love Supreme fanzine.

Never in the game for the entire 90 minutes, they looked like a team with a raging cup hangover.

Sunderland’s FA Cup exit means they have missed out on another Wembley trip as well as European football next season. Instead, they must now concentrate on Premier League survival, with a critical home clash with Crystal Palace up next on Saturday.

Poyet could not even look to the bench for inspiration. A minute after his double substitution which was wildly cheered by the 4,000 travelling fans — Adam Johnson and Fabio Borini on for Emanuele Giaccherini and Ignacio Scocco — Sunderland were behind.

Defender John O’Shea, having first given away an unnecessary free-kick, was outjumped for Tom Huddlestone’s cross by Curtis Davies, who headed home.

Two more goals followed in nine minutes. David Meyler muscled Lee Cattermole off a bouncing ball and, hell-bent on a memorable celebration, powered through on goal himself before slotting the ball past Oscar Ustari.

The former Sunderland midfielder, victim of Newcastle manager Alan Pardew’s celebrated headbutt attack a week earlier, dished out similar treatment to the corner flag.

‘Someone must have told him to do that because he didn’t think of that,’ joked Bruce.

‘It is his week. He took it on the chin, he didn’t bleat in the papers, just got on with it. He has had two horrible knee injuries, he’s ex-Sunderland and the goal is typical of him because you don’t expect him to get anywhere near the ball, but he does.’

Meyler said: ‘It (the Pardew incident) is done and dusted now. He’s apologised and it’s forgotten. The lads were cheering me on back home to do it (the celebration) for a bit of craic.’

Hull’s third goal came thanks to Cattermole, who played an awful back pass into the path of Matty Fryatt, who calmly slipped the ball past Ustari.

Poyet, whose son Diego was also knocked out of the competition while playing for Charlton against Sheffield United, refused to make excuses, preferring to concentrate on the match with Palace.

He said: ‘I invite every single Sunderland fan to fill the stadium because this is the key moment.

‘We didn’t play well, didn’t create enough and we are out. I am not going to analyse it because it will sound like excuses. Now every player has to defend Sunderland to the best of his ability. If we are good enough, we will stay up.’

BPoyet managed to keep 11 players on the pitch for the first time against Hull, despite his best efforts to fall out with referee Craig Pawson.

Sunderland’s boss lost his composure after Meyler’s goal and pushed a steward, although Hull City said last night no further action will be taken.

Pawson’s display was to prove the least of Poyet’s worries. Sunderland had one weak shot on target from Scocco to show for their so-called efforts all match.

In fact, Hull could have been three-up at the break. Maynor Figueroa’s shot hit the crossbar, Fryatt could only direct a diving header wide of the post and keeper Ustari saved Sone Aluko’s weak penalty after the playmaker fell under Seb Larsson’s challenge.

—Daily Mail