Hull City's unbeaten run of five games came to an end as Aston Villa earned a well-deserved 3-0 win at Villa Park.
Tigers crumble under pressure at Villa Park
Hull's unbeaten run of five games came to an end as Aston Villa earned a well-deserved 3-0 win at Villa Park.
Villa were the dominant side throughout the game and superb goals for Richard Dunne and James Milner in the first-half left the Tigers with little chance of rescuing the game.
Hull were rocked by an early injury to midfielder Jimmy Bullard who was forced off the field after injuring himself in a clash with James Milner.
It was Villa's constant attacks, though, that earned them the victory over a City side that crumbled under the pressure.
The home side extended their lead to 3-0 in the second-half when Ashley Young was fouled in the box by Hull City keeper Matt Duke and Carew fired home the penalty two minutes before the whistle.
Bubbling
Villa, bubbling with confidence after reaching the Carling Cup semi-finals, began confidently and almost went ahead inside the first 45 seconds.
Milner's chip was headed by Emile Heskey into the path of the overlapping Luke Young who burst into the Hull penalty area, but the Villa full-back dragged his low shot just past the far post.
Hull were on the back foot and a pass from Ashley Young set up an opportunity for Heskey but he failed to make proper contact with his shot.
Duke had to be alert to tip a cross from Milner, which took a wicked deflection, over the bar.
But Villa were not to be denied and after 13 minutes went ahead through Dunne's third goal of the campaign.
Milner's perfectly weighted pass found the Republic of Ireland defender in plenty of space and he hammered an unstoppable rising shot past Duke from 12 yards out.
Setback
Hull suffered a further setback when Bullard limped off in the 18th minute with a knee problem after landing awkwardly following an aerial challenge with Milner.
The midfielder was warmly applauded by Villa and City fans as he made his way to the dressing room and was replaced by Craig Fagan.
But after 29 minutes Milner doubled the home side's lead with his fifth goal of the campaign - and third in the league.
Duke had no choice but to come racing well outside his area to head an Ashley Young pass aimed at Agbonlahor out of play.
But the Hull goalkeeper did not have time to get back between the posts before Agbonlahor's quick throw picked out Milner and his 25 perfectly angled 20-yard lob flew into an empty net.
Hull midfielder Dean Marney became the first player to be yellow carded after 32 minutes for bringing down Stephen Warnock.
Villa defender Carlos Cuellar was yellow carded for a late sliding challenge on Richard Garcia. Then Ashley Young was booked after five minutes of the second half after holding back Stephen Hunt.
Heskey found himself in space outside of the Hull box but instead of shooting he elected to take an extra touch and was dispossessed by Gardner.
Out of the blue Hull almost reduced the arrears after 61 minutes. Fagan cut in from the right and his left-footed drive beat Brad Friedel and crashed against the angle of post and crossbar.
Luke Young was cautioned a minute later by referee Stuart Attwell after a high challenge on Dawson and Petrov became the fourth Villa player to go into the book after bringing down Hunt.
The second half was a stop-start affair as Fagan continued the stream of yellow cards after lunging at Downing.
But Villa substitute Carew, who had replaced Heskey, sealed the points from the penalty spot in the 88th minute.
Duke was booked for bringing down Ashley Young and up stepped Carew to hammer the ball into the corner of the net.
| Aston Villa |
Team Statistics |
Hull City |
| 3 |
Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
0 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 9 |
Corners |
3 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
17 |
| 1 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 4 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 68.5 |
Passing Success |
73 |
| 24 |
Tackles |
23 |
| 83.3 |
Tackles Success |
91.3 |
| 47.4 |
Possession |
52.6 |
| 54.7 |
Territorial Advantage |
45.3 |
|
