Hull City 2 Huddersfield Town 0: Clucas is getting his reward as the Tigers sink Town

The 23-year-old, signed for £1.3m from Chesterfield, took just 39 minutes of his debut to find the net and set the Tigers on their way to an opening-day victory over Huddersfield Town.

It was, as Lincoln-born Clucas admitted afterwards, a “dream debut” as the winger continued a meteoric rise since being rejected not once but twice in the formative years of his career.

Leicester City were the first to say ‘thanks, but not thanks’ to Clucas as a 16-year-old. Handed a second opportunity by Lincoln City two years later, his luck was again out as, just hours after his senior debut, then Imps manager Peter Jackson was sacked and successor Chris Sutton soon made it clear that the teenager was not in his plans.

Lesser characters would have given up at that point but not Clucas, who, instead, bagged a two-year scholarship at the Glenn Hoddle Academy in Spain that, in time, provided another route back into football via a trial at Hereford United.

This time, Clucas flourished and, after impressive stints with Mansfield Town and the Spireites, joined Hull late last month.

“From the age of nine,” said City’s goal-scoring debutant, “I have been a footballer and that is all I’ve wanted to do. Even with the knock-backs, I have always had belief in my own ability and that I would get there one day.

“It has been a long old road but I have managed to get there. It was a great start but the most important thing was getting three points. I helped out with a goal so it was a dream debut.

“I have never experienced a promotion. Hopefully, we can do it this year as that would really be a big one.”

Talk of an instant return to the top flight may be a tad premature just 90 minutes into the new season, not least because Hull far from had it their own way against a Huddersfield side that caused serious problem for a sustained period after half-time.

But, after a summer that Steve Bruce has described as his “toughest in football”, claiming all three points was a massive tonic.

Clucas set the Tigers on their way with an assured finish at the second attempt after Alex Smithies had denied the debutant with a fine reflex save.

Poor marking had been Huddersfield’s undoing, Ahmed Elmohamady’s floated cross finding Clucas all alone due to two defenders being dragged to the near post by Chuba Akpom.

The opener kick-started a game that, until then, had been something of a slow burner.

Town, who conceded the fourth highest number of goals in last season’s Championship, had clearly come to try and stifle the hosts.

Jonathan Hogg and Dean Whitehead, both primarily defensive midfielders, started alongside Jacob Butterfield in a three-man central unit that Hull struggled to break down.

Before Clucas’s opener, Huddersfield’s tactics had worked a treat with Harry Bunn having had the best opening when he fired over from a tight angle on eight minutes.

After the break, Chris Powell switched formation and his players responded admirably to take the game to the Tigers.

Several decent chances were created, the best falling to Jason Davidson when picked out by Butterfield just three minutes after the restart.

With no home player having tracked the Australian international’s run, he had time to bring the ball down and then shoot but, instead, attempted an acrobatic volley that went horribly wrong.

Bunn then went much closer following a jinking run, as did Butterfield, who brought a flying save from Allan McGregor in the home goal.

Andrew Robertson also had to step in to Hull’s rescue by denying Nahki Wells a shooting opportunity in the six-yard box before Town’s hopes were finally ended by Chuba Akpom 18 minutes from time.

Sone Aluko’s cross from the right caused sufficient alarm in the Terriers’ defence for Joel Lynch to only half-clear the ball to the debutant loanee from Arsenal.

Akpom did not need a second invitation and, after side-stepping one challenge, he fired an unstoppable shot past Smithies to settle what had been a hard-fought Yorkshire derby.

On their second half showing, defeat had been harsh on Huddersfield. However, as Hull had found in the Premier League last season, a lack of a killer instinct in front of goal can prove crucial – as Davidson, who spurned Town’s best chance, admitted.

“We didn’t take the chances when they came along,” said the 24-year-old summer arrival from West Bromwich Albion.

“Including myself, I got into the box but then hit it over the crossbar. I was disappointed. There were plenty of positives. We were up against a team who has kept the majority of their Premier League players but we were on the front foot for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

“Football matches, though, are not judged on how many chances you create. It is about how many goals you score.

“We can create more chances than the other team and play better than the other team. But it doesn’t count for anything if the result goes against us. We are a young team and have to realise, collectively, that we have to finish them off. We will work on finishing in the final third in training and we will be okay.”