Hull City 1 Sunderland 1: Tigers allow chance to pull clear slip from their grasp

The Tigers, despite dominating proceedings and taking a first-half lead through Dame N’Doye, were hit with a sucker punch just 13 minutes from time when Jack Rodwell rescued an unlikely point for Sunderland.

It meant what would this morning have been a seven-point – or, effectively, eight- when goal difference is taking into account – advantage over the bottom three now stands at five.

A healthy enough gap, of course, but Burnley, QPR and Leicester City are all in action tonight.

No wonder, therefore, that the over-riding emotion at the final whistle among home fans was one of frustration. A third straight home win had been Hull’s for the taking, but a combination of wasteful finishing and a couple of fine saves by Costel Pantilimon meant it was not to be.

Mind, the Tigers’ inability to claim what would have been a fifth straight win for Steve Bruce over the club that so harshly sacked him in 2011 was far from the major talking point.

Instead, an amazing touchline clash between Bruce and Gus Poyet that saw the Hull manager having to be prevented from confronting his Sunderland counterpart dominated discussion.

The 35th-minute spat was sparked by Poyet’s protests at a yellow card being shown to Rodwell for diving under a challenge from Alex Bruce.

A cool-box full of drinks was the initial target of the Uruguayan’s fury, the sight of several bottles flying through the air being sufficient to see referee Mike Dean called to the touchline by fourth official Darren Bond.

Poyet was immediately sent to the stands, but before leaving he strode towards Bruce to have his say. He then sarcastically applauded the Hull manager, whose response was to charge towards his Black Cats counterpart.

Only the intervention of a steward and linesman Stuart Burt prevented the altercation getting physical before Poyet was ushered down the tunnel.

It was a remarkable clash and one that was followed by two further on-field bust-ups, as David Meyler and Andrew Robertson took exception to fouls by Lee Cattermole and Sebastian Larsson respectively.

All three ugly clashes were perhaps an indication of how high the stakes are in the scrap to avoid relegation from the Premier League. In and among the conflict was a hugely entertaining game that Hull dominated only to be unable to finish off the Black Cats.

Just six minutes had been played when Nikica Jelavic wasted a fine pass from Meyler with a wayward shot. It was a let-off for the visitors, but one they failed to heed as, from the next attack, the Tigers went ahead.

A scything tackle that left Ahmed Elmohamady requiring treatment and put Wes Brown’s name in the referee’s notebook brought a free-kick that Tom Huddlestone drilled towards N’Doye and he did the rest with a delightful flick. Fourteen minutes had elapsed and for the next hour or so the Tigers were in total control thanks to their pace out wide and some inspired midfield play by Jake Livermore and Huddlestone.

Unfortunately for the home fans, what Hull could not add to this fine approach play was an ability to finish.

In some instances, goalkeeper Pantilimon deserved credit, particularly during the second half when he denied N’Doye and Livermore with point-blank saves.

Most of the time, however, a home player was culpable with a poor final ball in a promising position or a weak shot letting Sunderland off the hook.

Just before the hour, N’Doye blazed high and wide when found in a great position by Livermore while several inviting crosses from the left wing went unfinished because of a failure to gamble by anyone in black and amber.

This profligacy meant the Black Cats remained in a contest that, on the balance of play, should have been over by the hour mark.

And their reward came 13 minutes from time when a delightful cross by Patrick Van Aanholt floated over the stranded Allan McGregor to leave Jack Rodwell with the simple task of heading in on the line. An opportunity to deliver a telling blow in the relegation scrap had been missed by Hull, who must now look to take all three points from their next game at bottom club Leicester City before embarking on a tough run that will start with Chelsea’s visit to the KC on March 22.

Hull City: McGregor; McShane, Bruce, Dawson; Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Meyler, Robertson; Jelavic (Hernandez 73), N’Doye. Unused substitutes: Harper, Figueroa, Davies, Aluko, Ramirez, Quinn.

Sunderland: Pantilimon; Vergini (Van Aanholt 73), Brown, O’Shea, ; Reveillere; Larsson, Cattermole (Alvarez 62), Bridcutt, Rodwell; Graham (Wickham 73), Defoe. Unused substitutes: Mannone, Fletcher, Gomez, Coates.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).