Boxing Day blues for City as Black Cats bag the points
Pictures courtesy of Hull City
Hull City 0 - 1 Sunderland
Sky Bet Championship
MKM Stadium
Attendance: 24,420
By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City Correspondent
There was no Boxing Day cheer for Hull City as a late Sunderland goal meant their Christmas was bookended by two successive defeats.
It was heartbreaking for the Tigers, who yet again underperformed in front of a sell-out crowd at the MKM Stadium, but it was a deserved winner for a Black Cats side who had kept up the pressure for most of the game, even though long stretches of it – especially the first half – had been played at a fairly turgid pace.
As the pre-match build-up reached its crescendo, the impressive – and noisy – capacity Sunderland following joined in the singing of I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You. It being the anthem of both teams, it was somewhat stirring to hear it sung from all corners of the stadium before kick-off; it would prove less so as the contest wore on.
The first five minutes was largely played in Sunderland’s half, but then the Black Cats – resembling a Stewards XI in their luminous-yellow strip – forced a corner after a powerful run into the penalty area by Jack Clarke. They kept up the pressure as Jacob Greaves leapt to head it over the bar for another corner.
In the 10th minute, Aaron Connolly, played in by Scott Twine, shot straight at Anthony Patterson from 25 yards, but it was always going to be a comfortable save for the Sunderland keeper.
A couple of minutes later, Luke O’Nien felled Ozan Tufan, who had been racing towards the halfway line as City attempted a counterattack. The ball was soon down the other end again, though, and today’s panto villain, Bradley Dack, was allowed to swipe at the ball from about 12 yards out, but he put it well over.
It was pretty end-to-end, the Black Cats just shading it towards the middle of the half as City were forced to clear shots from Dan Neil, Trai Hume and Jobe Bellingham, whose rather more famous brother, Jude, was watching on in the stands.
Perhaps the best first-half moment for the Tigers was when Tufan linked up with Tyler Morton. His cross was tipped away by Patterson, just out of reach of Liam Delap, who surely would have fired it back towards Connolly lurking in the middle.
In the 27th minute, Patrick Roberts, played in by Bellingham, shot wide from long-range, before Lewie Coyle made a series of key interceptions on the right to hand possession back to the Tigers. Worringly for the Tigers’ captain, he looked to be limping just a little – but, true to form, he soldiered on. He made it well into the second half before being taken off.
As the last 10 minutes of the first half approached, the tempo dropped off to a point where one could speculate that both sides had perhaps indulged in a few too many roast potatoes and pigs-in-blankets the previous day. And, when Sunderland enjoyed another foray into the Tigers’ box, a clear note of frustration could be detected among the home fans as they willed City to get it forward.
In the 40th minute, Dack lay injured in the centre circle, and the resulting lengthy stoppage prompted an exodus from fans heading to the concourse in search of their own pigs-in-blankets (if indeed there were any left, as City’s special culinary delights usually sell out long before kick-off).
Dack was eventually able to get to his feet and he gingerly left the field, to be replaced by Adil Aouchiche. There would, therefore, be no more boos from the home stands for the ex-Blackburn player who famously tweeted “SHAMBLES” when City’s Boxing Day fixture in 2021 was postponed at short notice owing to a Covid outbreak at the club.
The Tigers had a glorious chance to start the second half with a bang as Morton’s ball into the area found Tufan. He flicked it to Twine, who should perhaps have taken it on himself, but he squared it to Connolly in a great central position. Sadly, all he could do was shoot tamely at Patterson.
There was drama at the other end moments later as Sunderland immediately responded, but City just managed to clear the danger.
The noise around the stadium was increasing now as the Black Cats continued to press forward. At one point there was an appeal for handball from the visiting fans in the North Stand – after which, predictably, City fans next to them screamed “handball!” every time a luminous-yellow shirt touched the ball.
Then, in the 55th minute, Delap made a storming run into the box, twisted and turned, and shot at Patterson. It was another tame effort, but it got the home fans going for a brief period.
Just before the hour-mark, Connolly and Coyle were replaced by Jason Lokilo and Cyrus Christie, as all the noise was now coming from the visiting fans who could sense their team taking the upper hand.
A mad couple of minutes followed, in which Delap saw a shot blocked in the 67th minute, and seconds later Ingram was called into real action for the first time as he came out well to deny Roberts at the right post. Then it was back up the other end again as Morton raced down the right; he put a ball into Delap, who forced a good save from Patterson, leaping to get his fingertips to it.
Both sets of fans roared their team on, as the action moved from end to end. At least this was more exciting than the lukewarm fare served up in the first half. In the 70th minute, Alfie Jones stuck a foot out and diverted a cross from Clarke just wide of the near post.
In the 78th minute, an unfortunate bounce off Jenson Seelt gifted City back possession near the area. Morton latched on to it and saw his shot tipped over from about 12 yards. Lokilo then curled a shot just wide of the far post.
However, the deadlock was finally broken in the 82nd minute – and it was Clarke who well and truly punctured the festive feeling at the MKM Stadium. His impressive right-footed low strike, from about 12 yards out on the left, went underneath Ingram and nestled in the bottom-right corner of the net. It left the City defence standing and pointing at each other, a scene that brought to mind that Spiderman GIF.
The Tigers didn’t give up, though, and a bit of pinball in the Sunderland box raised hopes of an equaliser, as did the introduction of Harry Vaughan and Adama Traore (for Twine and Regan Slater).
In the fourth minute of the four added on, City were given a free kick 30 yards out – Traore stepped up to take it… but it hit the wall, and that was that.
The defeat dumped City just outside the play-off places – overtaken by today’s opponents. So, not exactly the happiest of Christmasses for the Tigers. Can they turn it around and make it a happy new year in their next two matches?
