West Bromwich Albion vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
The HawthornsAttendance23,501.
Friday 19 April 2019 18:57, UK
West Brom striker Dwight Gayle grabbed a match-winning double to secure a 3-2 Sky Bet Championship victory against Hull at The Hawthorns.
Gayle, who scored a hat-trick in Albion's previous game against Preston, struck in the 62nd minute after Hull had come from a goal down to take the lead.
He sealed the win five minutes from time with his 22nd goal of the season and sixth in the last three games.
Albion, who are on the verge of securing their place in the play-offs, broke the deadlock through Kieran Gibbs after 42 minutes.
But Hull's on-loan Chelsea full-back Todd Kane drew City level in the 48th minute before grabbing his second 11 minutes later.
Hull had gone into the game seeking to keep alive their own slim hopes of reaching the play-offs.
But a second successive defeat has left their bid for a top-six finish on the rocks.
Hull were first to really threaten in the 14th minute when Jarrod Bowen let fly with a volley that Albion goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was relieved to see drop just past a post.
Hull forced more pressure in the 23rd minute when Kamil Grosicki tried his luck from distance.
Albion had to wait 39 minutes to create a clear opening of their own when they were denied by the Hull goalkeeper David Marshall.
Rekeem Harper had a shot charged down and, when the rebound fell to Stefan Johansen 16 yards from goal, he tried his luck with a low curling effort that was smothered by Marshall.
That sparked Albion fully into life and they took the lead three minutes later when Tosin Adarabioyo's centre flew across the face of the Hull goal and Gibbs produced a smart piece of finishing to fire home an angled volley at the far post.
But their lead did not last long as Hull were level in spectacular style right at the start of the second half.
Kane surged forward to chase a pass form Daniel Batty and then kept going before letting fly with a drive that whistled past Johnstone.
Kane then stunned Albion again by giving Hull the lead after another run forward onto a pass from Jackson Irvine.
This time he lifted a cross shot to the far post that Johnstone could only palm into the net.
Having been stung by the shock of falling behind, Albion quickly forced themselves back on to level terms when Gayle stooped low at the far post to head home Chris Brunt's corner.
He then secured the win with another finish at the far post - this time tapping home a right-wing cross from Jacob Murphy.
James Shan: "When he had a dry patch I spoke about how important a player he is for us with his work ethic and appetite.
"He's got a great attitude and his scoring record this season has been fantastic.
"He is a key player but I'm looking at our squad as a whole, they're all key players and hopefully they will all contribute to this being a successful season."
Nigel Adkins: "The lads have given us everything this season.
"We have come away from home and we knew that it would be a challenging fixture. We have played some good football and Todd Kane scored two great goals to put us in the ascendancy.
"But we knew that West Brom are a threat at set-pieces and we know that in Gayle they have a goalscorer. We designated a player to mark him but his equaliser was a turning point and the third goal was actually offside.
"So we did not get the fortune that sometimes you need and it is fine margins."
