Hull City 3 Leeds United 3: Two Illan Meslier howlers and two Abu Kamara goals decide derby

When Joel Piroe took advantage of a goalkeeping error to put Leeds United 3-1 up 73 minutes into their game at Hull City, there seemed only one possible winner.

Under Tim Walter there probably would have been, but Ruben Selles has breathed new life into this team, and they held their nerve to take advantage of two awful Illan Meslier errors, and a 3-3 draw.

To make it all the sweeter, Abu Kamara scored their first and last goal.

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Before the game, Kamara was wheeled out like a naughty schoolboy to apologise for putting a smiley face and a love heart on an Instagram post, although in reality most of the fan anger probably stemmed from his failure to track back for Middlesbrough's New Year's Day winner.

But there was only one apology that really mattered, and Kamara delivered it in the sixth minute. The MKM Stadium was singing his name long before he thumped home the goal that earnt his side a point

that had seemed beyond them.

Buyed by Kamara's opener, Hull had grown into the first half but when a beautiful Ao Tanaka goal burst their bubble less than a minute into the second, you feared for them, especially with Dan James and Piroe adding to it.

But with more than one helping hand from Meslier, Hull claimed a result that should do them an awful lot of good.

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BIG MOMENT: Hull City players celebrate a late equaliser by Abu Kamara (centre, back) in their game against Leeds UnitedBIG MOMENT: Hull City players celebrate a late equaliser by Abu Kamara (centre, back) in their game against Leeds United
BIG MOMENT: Hull City players celebrate a late equaliser by Abu Kamara (centre, back) in their game against Leeds United

Leeds has started the game hungrily pressing the ball and when Alfie Jones gave it up near the right touchline just two minutes in it was Kamara, promoted to the XI to make amends for what he did from the bench days earlier, to win it back.

Soon Mason Burstow was coming in off the left touchline to send Kamara free down the middle onto a lovely pass which he lobbed over Illan Meslier, sprinting off the line to try to make the winger's job harder.

At that stage it was a goal against the run of play.

Minutes later, Ethan Ampadu sprinted out of central defence, where he was filling in for Pascal Struijk, to intercept and release Manor Solomon. His shot was saved, Joel Piroe's blocked.

ONE-ON-ONE: Leeds United's Daniel James (left) gets a cross in under pressure from Matty JacobONE-ON-ONE: Leeds United's Daniel James (left) gets a cross in under pressure from Matty Jacob
ONE-ON-ONE: Leeds United's Daniel James (left) gets a cross in under pressure from Matty Jacob

Max Wober's chance presented Brenden Aaronson with a good chance but on the stretch he was unable to produce a convincing shot. Wober shot off target at the end of a good move.

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Hull grew confidence from the fact that for all the possession in their territory, Leeds were not hurting them.

In the 33rd minute a Gustavo Puerta cross deflected to Slater, who hit the post from a tight angle with Meslier out of the picture. The rebound bounced to Steven Alzate outside the area, who thrashed his shot wide.

Matty Jacob half-volleyed narrowly off target from a similar distance, and Alzate piucked his way through but again missed.

TUSSLE: Playmakers Gustavo Puerta (left) and Leeds United's Brenden Aaronson battle for the ballTUSSLE: Playmakers Gustavo Puerta (left) and Leeds United's Brenden Aaronson battle for the ball
TUSSLE: Playmakers Gustavo Puerta (left) and Leeds United's Brenden Aaronson battle for the ball

Although Ivan Pandur had to save a Jayden Bogle cross-shot with his feet and Aaronson's pull-back from the byline narrowly evaded Piroe and Daniel James, it was clear Hull were growing.

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Leeds sent out the same 11 players to resume the game but their minds looking sharper. Whether that came before or because of Tanaka's first goal for the club was hard to tell when it came so quickly.

Solomon laid the ball off and Tanaka curled a gorgeous goal.

Although Jacob quickly had a shot saved, it felt like Hull's belief took a dent. Certainly Leeds' lifted.

James got a tickle of a touch on an Aaronson cross that did not need that much more.

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Pedro's deflected shot after Puerta picked him out from far too much spacer and Kamara's deflected effort, then miskick from the corner it produced showed the game was far from dead, but you just felt there was an inevitability about it.

A Wober cross was bundled behind and it looked like Solomon's a couple of minutes later would go to waste too, only for Bogle to screw it back for James to score against his hometown club.

In the 73rd minute Ivan Pandur kicked the ball straight to Piroe, who emphatically thumped Leeds 3-1 up. He could not have imagined how Meslier would come to his rescue.

A looping header was heading for the roof of the net when the Leeds goalkeeper inexplicably patted it down for Pedro to make it 3-2 after 82 minutes.

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The crowd made sure their players realised they did not just see it as a consolation.

James could have made sure it was in the 85th, but his attempt to mimic Kamara's lob with Pandur in the head.

Hull were not going to waste that, not when Meslier patted the ball out to Kamara in the 89th.

It was a sobering draw for Leeds, a reminder that if they do make it to the Premier League, Meslier need not come with them.

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Hull's ambitions are much more prosaic, but they look equipped to achieve them.

Hull City: Pandur; L. Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Jacob; Alzate (Simons 67), Slater; Kamara (Sellars-Fleming 90+2), Puerta (Burns 90+2), Burstow (Vaughan 67); Pedro.

Unused substitutes: Giles, Drameh, Smith, Lo-Tutala, R Coyle.

Leeds United: Meslier; Bogle, Rodon, Ampadu, Wober (Byram 66); Tanaka, Rothwell (Guilavogui 90); James, Aaronson, Solomon; Piroe (Joseph 90).

Unused substitutes: Ramazani, Darlow, Gnonto, Gelhardt, Schmidt, Debayo.

Referee: A Backhouse (Carlise).

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