Hull City 2 Ipswich Town 2: Agony for Tigers as visitors strike late to take share of points

A LATE Jordan Spence goal rescued a point for Ipswich as they drew for the first time this season in an entertaining clash at the KCOM Stadium.
Leonid Slutsky.Leonid Slutsky.
Leonid Slutsky.

Mick McCarthy’s visitors went ahead after just six minutes courtesy of David McGoldrick’s low strike but Hull were back on level terms 11 minutes before the break when Jarrod Bowen rifled in from close range.

Hull took the lead six minutes after the interval thanks to a smart finish from Nouha Dicko but Spence’s effort secured a draw late on after Allan McGregor had saved a McGoldrick penalty.

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The visitors had the game’s first clear-cut chance after six minutes when Joe Garner got on the end of a dangerous cross and nodded towards goal from the middle of the box, forcing McGregor to tip behind.

And Town broke the deadlock from the resulting corner when McGoldrick found the bottom corner of McGregor’s net from the left side of the area after Hull failed to clear.

There were groans from the home fans when the Tigers twice gave the ball away in the middle of the park as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser.

But the hosts grew into the game as the first half wore on and Bowen created Hull’s first real opportunity in the 23rd minute when he found a pocket of space 30 yards from goal and unleashed a fierce strike, but Ipswich goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski was equal to it.

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And Hull equalised in the 34th minute when Kamil Grosicki’s deflected cross fell to Bowen at the far post and he fired in from six feet.

GREAT LEVELLER: Hull City's Jarrod Bowen scored a first-half equaliser for the home side against Ipswich.  Picture Tony Johnson.GREAT LEVELLER: Hull City's Jarrod Bowen scored a first-half equaliser for the home side against Ipswich.  Picture Tony Johnson.
GREAT LEVELLER: Hull City's Jarrod Bowen scored a first-half equaliser for the home side against Ipswich. Picture Tony Johnson.

The home side had their tails up and went looking for a quick-fire second but Ipswich soaked up the pressure well and the sides remained level at the break.

City started the second half on the front foot and went ahead in the 51st minute when Dicko burst into the box and calmly tucked beyond Bialkowski after the Ipswich defence had failed to deal with a long ball forward.

Garner was perhaps lucky to stay on the field after bundling over Michael Hector in the 65th minute having been booked for a foul on the same player moments earlier.

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The game became stretched as both teams poured forward, with Dicko again going close and Callum Connolly firing wide for the visitors.

GREAT LEVELLER: Hull City's Jarrod Bowen scored a first-half equaliser for the home side against Ipswich.  Picture Tony Johnson.GREAT LEVELLER: Hull City's Jarrod Bowen scored a first-half equaliser for the home side against Ipswich.  Picture Tony Johnson.
GREAT LEVELLER: Hull City's Jarrod Bowen scored a first-half equaliser for the home side against Ipswich. Picture Tony Johnson.

Ipswich were presented with a golden opportunity to level things up when the referee pointed to the spot after Waghorn was tripped by Kevin Stewart just inside the area.

But McGregor dived low to his right to keep out McGoldrick’s penalty and keep the hosts in front.

Ipswich piled on the pressure in the closing stages and got their reward when Spence bundled the ball in off the post after 88 minutes to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.

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Hull could have won it in added time but substitute Adama Diomande headed wide at the back post.

Hull City: McGregor, Tomori, Dawson, Hector, Aina, Stewart, Larsson (Meyler 81), Bowen, Henriksen, Grosicki (Irvine 68), Dicko (Diomande 89). Subs Not Used: Mazuch, Marshall, Evandro, Clark.

Ipswich Town: Bialkowski, Spence, Chambers, Webster, Knudsen, Skuse, Connolly (Bru 80), Garner, Waghorn (Ward 80), Celina, McGoldrick (Sears 86). Subs Not Used: Gerken, Iorfa, Nydam, Kenlock.

Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).