Hull City vs Ipswich Town. Sky Bet Championship.
MKM StadiumAttendance15,516.
Saturday 18 November 2017 19:24, UK
A late Jordan Spence goal rescued a point for Ipswich as they drew for the first time this season in an entertaining 2-2 encounter with Hull.
Mick McCarthy's visitors went ahead after just six minutes courtesy of David McGoldrick's low strike but Hull were back on level terms 11 minutes before the break when Jarrod Bowen rifled in from close range.
Hull took the lead six minutes after the interval thanks to a smart finish from Nouha Dicko but Spence's effort secured a draw late on after Allan McGregor had saved a McGoldrick penalty.
The visitors had the game's first clear-cut chance after six minutes when Joe Garner got on the end of a dangerous cross and nodded towards goal from the middle of the box, forcing McGregor to tip behind. And Town broke the deadlock from the resulting corner when McGoldrick found the bottom corner of McGregor's net from the left side of the area after Hull failed to clear.
There were groans from the home fans when the Tigers twice gave the ball away in the middle of the park as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser. But the hosts grew into the game as the first half wore on and Bowen created Hull's first real opportunity in the 23rd minute when he found a pocket of space 30 yards from goal and unleashed a fierce strike, but Ipswich goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski was equal to it.
And Hull equalised in the 34th minute when Kamil Grosicki's deflected cross fell to Bowen at the far post and he fired in from six feet. The home side had their tails up and went looking for a quick-fire second but Ipswich soaked up the pressure well and the sides remained level at the break.
City started the second half on the front foot and went ahead in the 51st minute when Dicko burst into the box and calmly tucked beyond Bialkowski after the Ipswich defence had failed to deal with a long ball forward.
Garner was perhaps lucky to stay on the field after bundling over Michael Hector in the 65th minute having been booked for a foul on the same player moments earlier.
The game became stretched as both teams poured forward, with Dicko again going close and Callum Connolly firing wide for the visitors. Ipswich were presented with a golden opportunity to level things up when the referee pointed to the spot after Waghorn was tripped by Kevin Stewart just inside the area. But McGregor dived low to his right to keep out McGoldrick's penalty and keep the hosts in front.
Ipswich piled on the pressure in the closing stages and got their reward when Spence bundled the ball in off the post after 88 minutes to earn the visitors a share of the spoils. Hull could have won it in added time but substitute Adama Diomande headed wide at the back post.
Leonid Slutsky: "Last time out we had a lot of problems - I had a very difficult time. Today we again didn't win but I think today - in terms of performance - we played our best match for the last three matches, absolutely. In the last two matches against Middlesbrough and against Sheffield United we played really terribly and I thought about how it was possible to change the quality of the game, change the performance because I can't change results.
"We conceded the first goal and I was really afraid in this situation because in the last matches when we conceded a goal we stopped playing. And today we played really well, we changed the match and scored twice, we controlled the game and dominated in the game. Of course we're very disappointed with the final result but we've had a lot of negative moments - especially last time - and we're building a new team. We were born only three months ago so we are a small child now."
Mick McCarthy: "It was a valuable point - a well-earned point, I thought. I don't think we've nicked anything, by any stretch of the imagination. I thought we started well and I thought we let them off the hook in the first 20 minutes and then they got into it.
"In the first half they certainly had more possession and I thought we were well organised and disciplined. I was a bit disappointed with their goal. In the second half I thought it was a more open game, to be honest. What really pleases me is, having had the penalty saved, it generally knocks the stuffing out of a team and gives the other side a lift. My lads kept going, which was great, and I think we got the point we deserved, to be quite honest."
