Referee draws misfiring City’s ire as Black Cats go top
Pictures courtesy of Hull City
Hull City 0 - 1 Sunderland
Sky Bet Championship
MKM Stadium
Attendance: 23,072
By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City Correspondent
Hull City were edged out at home by the league leaders – but for many the villain of the piece was the man in the middle, with two controversial decisions helping Sunderland hold on to the Raich Carter Trophy.
Ahead of the match, Carter – a legend for both teams – was inducted into Hull City’s Hall of Fame, and not before time. Nick Barmby and Carter’s son, Raich Junior, were warmly applauded on to the pitch after a short tribute was played on the big screens.
And seconds before kick-off came a rare chance to hear Can’t Help Falling in Love with You ring out from all four corners of the stadium. It being the anthem of both teams, it made for a stirring start – but that was as loud as it got for some time as the encounter proved to be intriguing, rather than exciting, for much of the first half.
Sunderland’s first corner came just over a minute in, but it came to nothing after the kick drifted behind and out of play.
City’s first real attacking foray came in the seventh minute as Abu Kamara drove forward, before Mohamed Belloumi saw his shot blocked.
A couple of minutes later, debutant Gustavo Puerta – on loan from Bayer Leverkusen – raced down the middle and passed wide to Belloumi. As Belloumi put in a cross, there were a few half-hearted penalty shouts for a foul on Marvin Mehlem, but they were waved away by referee Bobby Madley.
The Black Cats had their moments in the Tigers box, too, but neither keeper was being truly tested. In the 17th minute, Wilson Isidor shot straight at Ivor Pandur – and this would prove to be the first of just two shots on target in the entire match.
From another Sunderland corner in the 23rd minute, Dennis Cirkin’s shot was deflected over, but the resulting corner was easily cleared by Charlie Hughes.
The Tigers were able to break again moments later, with Kamara racing down the left and Belloumi in support down the middle, but Kamara’s cross evaded both him and Chris Bedia.
Sunderland looked marginally the more threatening when they did get going, forcing City to get everyone back and pack the box, and Pandur did well to stick a foot out and divert a cross from Patrick Roberts at the near post.
In the 34th minute Bedia had a shooting opportunity in the box but was closed down, before a lovely long-range cross by Belloumi was only just out of reach of Puerta.
Amid more good pressure from City, Lewie Coyle went down in the area in the 40th minute, prompting another penalty appeal – no dice, said Mr Madley.
Sunderland’s closest chance of the game so far came in the 43rd minute as an 18-yard shot from Jobe Bellingham fizzed past the left-hand post.
Seconds before the break, there were loud shouts for handball against Chris Mepham – from pretty much everyone in a half-mile radius – but they fell on deaf ears.
Instead, Madley blew the half-time whistle, with no time added, as boos rang out from the home stands. Video of the incident appeared to be conclusive on this one – handball just outside the area, which could have been a red-card offence.
The second half, like the first, took a while to get going, but the Tigers were by now looking the more settled and organised – and in the 52nd minute a great 20-yard effort from Belloumi went just wide of the left post.
Barely a minute later, a shot from Bedia in the box hit the post, with keeper Patterson beaten. Then another shot from Bedia in the area was deflected on to the side netting, as at last the atmosphere inside the stadium turned up a notch.
Just as the Black Cats were beginning to press a little, in the 62nd minute the Tigers broke and Patterson pulled off an extraordinary save to tip away a long-range deflected effort.
But a minute later it was City who once again found themselves on the end of the counterattack – and not without some controversy.
As Sunderland got the ball away straight from a Tigers corner (familiar territory here…), Madley appeared to get somewhat in the way of Mehlem, but allowed play to continue. Regardless, City were horribly exposed as they have been many times this season – and it was Isidor v Cody Drameh in a foot race to the finish. Unfortunately for City, Isidor won out, and he did exceptionally well to hold on to the ball under challenge and then lift it over Pandur.
The home fans, though, were incandescent and continued to aim their ire at Madley for the remainder of the match. Alfie Jones and Tigers coach Julian Hubner went into his book for their protests.
During the aftermath Walter made his first substitution, Kamara making way for Liam Millar, and five minutes later Regan Slater and Kasey Palmer replaced Mehlem and Puerta. Former Tiger Aaron Connolly replaced Isidor moments later.
In the 76th minute, a flicked header by Bedia went well wide, and four minutes later at the other end, a decent attacking move by Sunderland ended in Chris Rigg hitting the side netting. Some of their fans thought it was in, prompting jeers from City fans in the North Stand.
The league leaders – as they now were once more, that goal enough to reclaim top spot from Burnley – were seeing out the game with relative ease.
In the last few minutes Hughes was replaced by another home debutant, Joao Pedro, and Zambrano was on for Simons.
As four minutes of added time were announced, the Tigers were enjoying a brief period of pressure but the game had long felt up. They hadn’t registered a shot on target and it didn’t really look like one was coming.
Then came a corner in the 93rd minute – Pandur came upfield… but Pedro headed well over from Belloumi’s kick and that was that. Cue more boos on the final whistle.
So, yes – it was a less than satisfactory performance by the referee, and these decisions do of course change games, but City are also to blame for not having the cutting edge to put the match to bed. That said, it was a far more convincing showing than of late, and a decent response to the shellacking at Norwich before the international break.