Hull City progress after penalty shoot-out but improvement is needed

It was not pretty, and it needed a penalty shoot-out, but Hull City got their season off to a positive start by progressing to the second round of the League Cup.

Malik Wilks, Richie Smallwood, Martin Samuelsen, George Honeyman and Kean Lewis-Potter all scored their penalties after a 90 minutes which was goalless and from their perspective largely forgettable.

Matt Ingram had been the star of the for the Tigers with two good low saves, and he kept out the opening strike of the shoot-out, denying Will Grigg with his legs, to effectively see his side through.

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It was another miserable day for Grigg, whose Sunderland career has been one long sob story. Had the Black Cats had a luckier centre-forward they might have made more of being the better team during the 90 minutes but instead he had two “goals” disallowed.

SAVE: Matt Ingram produced the decisive moment in the penalty shoot-outSAVE: Matt Ingram produced the decisive moment in the penalty shoot-out
SAVE: Matt Ingram produced the decisive moment in the penalty shoot-out

Whether it was the fact they had played much more recently or not, Hull got better as the second half went on without ever looking like scoring. But it was a different story from 12 yards, with their takers unerringly finding the corners of Lee Burge's net.

Although there were only three debutants – captain Smallwood, Greg Docherty and Josh Emmanuel – there were also only three survivors from the last competitive match, which confirmed Hull's place at the bottom of last season's Championship. For all the changes, though, there was a depressing familiarity about the opening stages as a Sunderland side back in action for the first time in six months dominated.

Early goals were a feature of Hull's football on last season's resumption and they were very lucky not to concede one at the Stadium of Light too.

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Brandon Fleming, the 20-year-old filling in for the injured Callum Elder did well to get back and head off the line from Max Power inside the first 30 seconds, but it showed that once again the Tigers had started on the back foot. Grigg headed into the net in the third minute, only for the goal to be chalked off.

“What was that for?” bellowed Phil Parkinson.

The answer was a foul on goalkeeper Matt Ingram. When Grigg was denied again in the second half it was for offside, but it was alarming how Luke O'Nien cut through the defence to deliver.

Chris Maguire was causing problems in the hole of Sunderland's 3-4-1-2, and headed a chance he ought to have at least put on target wide when Denver Hume crossed in the sixth minute.

Ingram stuck out a boot to save O'Nien's 18th-minute header well, and narrowed the angle sufficiently that when Aiden O'Brien dragged his shot wide in the 36th minute, it probably did not make that much difference.

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Nine minutes earlier the striker narrowly failed to stretch to a cross flashed over by his strike partner, Grigg.

Hull looked uncertain defensively and showed the heavy touches and sloppy passes that perhaps a longer pre-season might have ironed out, but to use two of coach Grant McCann's favourite phrases, it is what it is and like everyone else, they need to get on with it.

With Josh Magennis on international duty it did not help that Tom Eaves limped off in the 30th minute after taking a knock, having glanced his side's only decent chance at that point wide from a George Honeyman cross. Jordy de Wijs did not get enough on a Fleming corner late in the half, putting it well wide.

Again, Sunderland started the second half the stronger, Hume heading wide, Power shooting at Ingram. When Hull threatened to counter-attack after George Dobson dithered over a pull-back, Eaves's substitute Kean Lewis-Potter was hacked down at the cost of a Hume booking.

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It was an hour before Hull had an effort on target, although Samuelsen did not make Burge have to move for it, and thereafter the game was largely played in that half of the field but the next accurate strike from them was not until the shoot-out.

Ultimately, though, it did not matter. Their season is up and running – just.

Sunderland: Burge; Willis, Wright, Flanagan; O'Nien, Dobson, Power, Hume; Maguire (Gooch 76); O'Brien (Wyke 76); Grigg.

Not used: Scowen, Feeney, Matthews, Leadbitter, Neil.

Hull City: Ingram; Emmanuel, Burke, De Wijs, Fleming; Honeyman, Smallwood, Docherty; Wilks, Eaves (Lewis-Potter 30), Samuelsen.

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Not used: Batty, Jones, McLoughlin, Sheaf, Cartwright, Berry.

Referee: A Bramall (Sheffield).

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James Mitchinson

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