Hull City earned their fourth win in five away games, boosting their chances of Championship survival.
The Tigers were disciplined defensively, consistently threatening on the break, and could have scored more if not for key saves by Anthony Patterson later in the game.
Sunderland, in fourth place, missed a prime opportunity to respond to their recent setback, despite head coach Regis le Bris urging his side to bounce back from their Elland Road disappointment.
Sunderland Unable to Recover
The visitors started brightly but relied on Patterson’s early error to take the lead. Gelhardt’s corner appeared innocuous, but with Patrick Roberts obstructing his view, Patterson misjudged his catch, inadvertently pushing the ball into his own goal.
Gelhardt nearly repeated the trick minutes later, but this time Patterson clawed the ball away, with the Sunderland defence scrambling clear. The home side thought they had levelled through Luke O’Nien, but his header was correctly ruled out for offside.
Hull keeper Ivor Pandur, although shaky at times, managed to keep Sunderland at bay. His awkward clearance from Roberts’ inswinging corner was just enough to prevent another embarrassing moment at the near post.
Injury problems mounted for Sunderland, losing influential midfielder Enzo le Fee at half-time and then defender Dan Ballard shortly after, who limped off following a crucial block. This further disrupted the home side’s rhythm.
Hull nearly doubled their advantage on the counter-attack, with Steven Alzate firing narrowly wide. Sunderland pushed desperately for an equaliser, with Trai Hume creating excellent chances for Isidor and Bellingham, both failing to convert their headers. Hume also tested Pandur himself, but the Hull goalkeeper stood firm.
Late on, Hull’s Matt Crooks saw a clever backheel finish disallowed for offside, while Patterson redeemed himself slightly with an excellent save from a deflected cross by Harry Lincoln.
Hull City head coach Ruben Selles told BBC Radio Humberside: “It was a good performance from the team against a really good opponent away from home. It’s always difficult – they have pace and are energetic but the team showed character in possession and in the last 10 minutes when we had to defend the box we did it properly.
“I’m happy but I just put it into the dressing room now that we cannot allow ourselves one of those moments where we win one game and then don’t perform in the way that we should.”
Writer’s View
Hul City have found resilience on their travels, and under Selles’ pragmatic approach, they look increasingly capable of steering clear of relegation danger. Both clubs now face defining matches that could shape their respective seasons.
