Hull City 1 Stoke City 2: Familiar failings stop Hull making most of brilliant football

Under Ruben Selles the Tigers look very different from the hapless side pretending not to be in a relegation battle under Tim Walter, but sadly not unrecogisable.

Some of Hull's football in the opening half-hour especially was a joy to watch but not for the first time they were not ruthless enough up front, not concentrated enough at the back.

The end result was a 2-1 defeat that should never have happened, even taking into account the usual brilliance from Stoke's former Rotherham United goalkeeper Viktor Johansson who quite rightly took the acclaim of the away fans at full-time.

"How s*** must you be, we're winning away?" taunted visiting fans who had not seen a Stoke win on the road since November 6. Hull have won their last three away games, swatting Sheffield United aside 3-0 in the most recent of them, but just cannot get the job done in East Yorkshire.

Only one Championship team has a worse record than Stoke - Hull, with their 12 points from 16 games on a pitch unworthy of how they try to play and for that matter act.

And yet they were so good for long periods of the game.

With Bae Jun-ho a seemingly reluctant right-sided midfielder, Matty Jacob, Joe Gelhardt and Eliot Matazo were all making hay picking up space in the inside-left pocket, whilst on the right, Abu Kamara had the beating of former Sheffield United wing-back Enda Stevens.

Alfie Jones and Sean McLoughlin played good long passes out of the back for runners.

At times, with short-sharp balls beating the press from goal-kicks and McLoughlin slaloming into a shooting position from left-sided centre-back, there were elements of the best theory of Walterball, only better executed and more selective under new coach Ruben Selles.

But when an injury to Johansson created a virtual time-out after 29 minutes, the lead was still only 1-0. That would soon be decisive.

Nobody would have seen Ali Al-Hamadi's goal coming before that as Hull played some wonderful, incisive football.

With five minutes on the clock Kamara cut inside and played a clever ball to the charging Regan Slater, who won a corner when his shot was smothered.

That was played short to the excellent Steven Alzate, who put a deep ball in. It looked like no one was going to get on the end of McLoughlin's header until beyond the far post Matazo became the third Hull player in as many games to score on his first start for the club.

Hull pushed on from there, Kamara coming inside and forcing a save, McLoughlin shooting at the goalkeeper, Joao Pedro latching onto a good ball over the top by Jones and unselfishly playing it across for Matazo. Again, though, he hit the goalkeeper.

A sliding Pedro picked out Johansson too after Kamara skipped past Stevens.

But then came the "time-out" and the substitution of Lynden Gooch, perhaps under the work time directive, given the shift he had to put in at right-back.

Hull kept going, Alzate going on a great run only to get the ball stuck under his feet. When Matazo picked Gelhardt out, his shot was deflected for a corner.

But with half-time approaching, Stoke finally had a spell of pressure and in the 43rd minute, Al-Hamadi thumped in a cross by Gooch's replacement, Junior Tchamadeu, as right-back Cody Drameh dozed. When a long throw-in fell to him in first-half stoppage time, Josh Wilson-Esbrand could even have put his side improbably in front, but his half-volley dragged wide.

They ought to have done so a few minutes into the second half, albeit Drameh's goalline clearance came in a furious period of action, most of it at the other end.

It started with Hull penalty appeals waved away after Matazo went outside to collect an excellent Alzate pass. Gelhardt underlapped and took a tumble which did not convince Will Finnie any more than Louie Barry's would shortly after he came on for his debut.

Stoke went down the other end with Bae, who fizzed a ball across from the byline. Drameh did really well to stop Wilson-Esbrand scoring and Huill scrambled clear.

Johansson made a great save when Kamara nodded Jacob's long ball down and Pedro unleashed a vicious shot.

So did Matazo, with the outside of his bootm but that one missed the target.

A McLoughlin header was topped over.

Then in the 73rd minute, came the real kick in the proverbials. Ivor Pandur tipped a Nathan Lowe header over the crossbar and from the corner substitute Andrew Moran controlled, swiveled and found the net.

Hull were crestfallen, but picked themselves up.

Gelhardt came in off the right, where he had switched to when Barry came on, but his shot lacked conviction.

With plenty of attacking players poured off the bench, there was at least no lack of desire from Hull.

Matt Crooks won a nod-down in the 90th minute and the Alzate played it in, he almost fell onto a shot Johansson saved and seconds later Barry forced a great low save after good work at the byline by Nordin Amrabat.

Crooks slipped in McLoughlin but Johansson stood strong yet again and Slater blazed the rebound wide.

Barry looked to have won it in the fourth added minute when he rippled the side netting after popping up in the inside-right channel, but rippled the net from the wrong side.

Hull City: Pandur; Drameh, Jones, McLoughlin, Jacob; Slater, Alzate, Matazo (Crooks 71); Kamara, Pedro, Gelhardt (Amrabat 83).

Unused substitutes: L Coyle, Puerta, Barry, Smith, Joseph, Lo-Tutala, Burstow.

Stoke City: Johansson; Gooch (Tchamadeu 30), Phillips, Rose, Stevens; Bae, Seko, Burger (Tezgel 84), Wilson-Esbrand; Al Hamadi (Moran 60), Lowe.

Unused substitutes: Vidigal, Koumas, Bonham, Lawal, Gibson, Lipsiuc.

Referee: W Finnie (Bedfordshire).