Fryatt and Tigers flatten Town

Matt Fryatt struck late in the game to hand Hull their first win of the Championship season as they won 1-0 at Ipswich on Saturday.

Nigel Pearson's side were seeking to bounce back from consecutive losses, including an embarrassing 2-0 home defeat against League Two Macclesfield in the Carling Cup. Ipswich, meanwhile, had a cup disappointment of their own to overcome, having gone down 2-1 against Northampton in midweek. Grant Leadbitter's early corner at Portman Road forced James Chester to clear behind to give Ipswich another chance to load the penalty area, but although Leadbitter's second delivery found Tommy Smith, he miscued his shot over the bar. Hull created some chances of their own when Fryatt's close-range strike brought an excellent save from David Stockdale, before Robert Koren and Tom Cairney saw consecutive corners easily cleared. A demonstration of excellent close control from Mark Kennedy saw him carve out an opening but his shot was brilliantly saved by Peter Gulacsi. With half-time approaching, Leadbitter flighted in a corner which Damien Delaney attacked but he saw his header crash off the top of the bar. The visitors, who picked up points in 18 of their 23 away league matches last season, signalled their intent early in the second half when Koren unleashed a long-range drive which Stockdale did well to tip over the bar. Town then forced their ninth corner of the game after good work from Aaron Cresswell but Lee Bowyer could only shoot wide after pouncing on Leadbitter's delivery. Paul Jewell's side were struggling to get behind their opponents, whose system of playing five across the middle ensured they were enjoying superiority in the midfield battle. Keith Andrews was introduced from the bench in the 65th minute in an attempt to inject some energy into the hosts' midfield, with Kennedy making way for the Blackburn loanee. Ipswich have not won their opening two league games in the previous nine seasons and the Portman Road crowd stirred into life in the late stages of the match as they sought to rally their side. Michael Chopra responded with a thunderous 30-yard effort which Gulacsi smothered before issuing a reminder to his defenders to close players down. But it was the Tigers who pounced on a slack moment of defending to score the game's deciding goal after 77 minutes. Fryatt took advantage of the space afforded to him to roam forward and drill a low shot from the edge of the box beyond the reach of Stockdale and into the far corner. Lee Martin had a fantastic chance to equalise within moments, but his header from Carlos Edwards' measured cross was directed straight at Gulacsi. Jewell threw on Nathan Ellington for the closing stages but the former Wigan striker failed to make an impact as City comfortably held on for the win.