Hull City 0 Sunderland 1: Referee takes awkward centre stage as Tigers fall to defeat

The West Yorkshire official was booed off at full-time after his unwitting hand in the only goal of the game between Hull and Sunderland. It was an unsatisfactory way to decide a football match.

"Maybe you can interview the referee, it would be better,” was Hull coach Tim Walter’s opening gambit when he spoke the media.

Hull had come out for the second half much improved on the team pinned back in the first so it was annoying the referee played a big hand in the moment that decided it, but they still had plenty of opportunity to do something about it themselves, and did not.

The home fans were already justifiably grumpy with Madley for not sending off Chris Mepham.

Ultimately, the right team won.

So anaemic in the first half, Mohammed Belloumi had curled a shot over, Chris Bedia had smacked a shot against the crossbar and had another deflect into the side netting, and even with a defender's boot on it, Belloumi's powerful 63rd-minute shot forced Anthony Patterson into a stretching save.

Hull played the corner back to Marvin Mehlem but with Madley getting in the discombobulated German's way without touching the ball, it was turned over. Not that Hull had needed much help giving the ball away at times.

Dan Neil pounced.

The referee must have been praying someone in black-and-amber would get a tackle in or that Wilson Isidor would miss the target but he and Hull had no such luck. Cody Drameh could not stop Isidor finishing with aplomb.

"We want to play short corners because we know it works," said Xavier Simons. "It's something the gaffer wants to do. We've scored from it before.

"Unfortuantely we made a mistake but personally I can't comment on what happened. All I did was react and try and get back in and unfortunately he took his opporunity.

"We do work on it in training. We went to Turkey (during the international break) and worked on it."

The Tigers could hardly claim Sunderland's victory was undeserved, but after so much good defending it was a pity to be undone like that.

Hull's team is evolving – Gustavo Puerta made his debut on Sunday and Charlie Hughes his first start – and they spent some time in the Turkish sunshine working on Walterball during the international break. But once the pre-match rain cleared to leave a sunny day by the Humber, they could not play it. Or perhaps it is better to say they were not allowed to by excellent opponents.

To say the first half was backs-to-the-wall would be a massive understatement. But Hull somehow escaped unscathed.

Tim Walter likes his team to see a lot of the ball and do not mind so much if a lot of their possession comes in their own third.

Pressing is key to beating them, and Sunderland were excellent at it, and good at keeping the ball. Breaking the Tigers down was a lot trickier, though, with centre-back Hughes impressing on a full debut which had been delayed by appendicitis.

It did not help that more often than not when Hull broke away, they had given the ball back to their visitors within three or four passes.

Sunderland showed care with the ball and invention in flashes, like when Chris Rigg played a pass through the legs of Drameh, only for Patrick Roberts' shot to be blocked.

Despite having 62 per cent of the ball in the opening period, the Black Cats' only shot on target was comfortable enough for him, Isidor producing a fairly power-puff effort after Hull kindly gave him the ball.

Dennis Cirkin volleyed fractionally over with a deflection. Jobe Bellingham shot just wide when Luke O'Neill stepped out onto another loose pass.

But for all the time spent in their own half, Hull should have ended the first half a man up, a long ball bouncing back to the goalkeeper off a leaning Mepham's arm as Puerta harassed him. To Hull's fury, play was waved on.

The defender was outside the area so like Lewie Coyle's tumble after driving into the area minutes earlier, Madley was right not to give a penaly but both were a sign of what was possible.

Hull took the bull by the horns when the game restarted, the better team until Isidor's goal burst their balloon in the 63rd minute.

"One-nil to the referee" sang the disgruntled supporters.

Hull tried their best to equalise, Bedia glancing a cross from substitute Liam Millar side off target, Simons shooting well wide, Coyle having a shot blocked and Drameh unable to get a clear header at a 93rd-minute header from a corner Ivor Pandur came up for.

But the game was destined to be shaped by that refereeing misstep.

Hull City: Pandur; Coyle, Hughes (Pedro 84), Jones, Drameh; Puerta (Slater 69), Simons (Zambrano 84); Belloumi, Mehlem (Palmer 69), Kamara (Millar 65); Bedia. Unused substitutes: Giles, McLoughlin, Racioppi, Burstow.

Sunderland: Patterson; Hume, Mepham, O'Nien, Cirkin; Rigg, Neil, Bellingham; Roberts (Browne 84), Isidor (Connolly 74), Mundle. Unused substitutes: Rusyn, Moore, Aouchiche, Aleksic, Hjelde, Watson, Johnson.

Referee: R Madley (Huddersfield).