Hull City were less than 10 minutes away from picking up a hard-fought win over Stoke City on Sunday, having taken a first-half lead despite having a man sent off in the first few minutes. Unfortunately for the Tigers, their opponents had other ideas and nicked an equalising goal in the 83rd minute.
Hull City vs. Stoke City: Final score 1-1, Shawcross snatches late draw for Potters
A late goal from Ryan Shawcross earned Stoke a point away at Hull.
Hull were on top in the opening exchanges, comfortably stroking the ball around in midfield. However, they failed to convert their early possession into any goalscoring opportunities, and paid the price when their defender James Chester denied Glenn Whelan an obvious goalscoring opportunity and was sent off after 14 minutes.
From then on, Stoke dominated the game, though the Tigers stayed characteristically stubborn and managed to restrict their visitors' chances. Erik Pieters lashed wildly over the bar from a narrow angle after 24 minutes, before Ryan Shawcross spooned the ball high on a corner just past the half-hour. In the Hull goal, Allan McGregor was barely troubled.
Hull were eventually rewarded for their impressive defending, taking the lead inside the final five minutes of the half. Tom Huddlestone’s long-range drive -- the very first shot on target of the match -- was weakly tipped into the path of his teammate Nikica Jelavić, who was left with a simple close-range tap-in.
Unsurprisingly, Stoke came out after the restart with a little more urgency, though they still found chances hard to come by. After a promising, high-tempo start, they looked increasingly pedestrian, and tellingly relied on a spectacular Charlie Adam strike just past the hour to keep McGregor on his toes.
However, they kept knocking on the door, and it finally broke down with less than 10 minutes remaining on the clock. A deep cross from Bojan was flicked against McGregor’s crossbar, before Shawcross tapped in the crucial equaliser from point-blank range.
Stoke suddenly had the momentum, and set off in search of a winner, though a second goal proved elusive for Mark Hughes' side.
Hull City: McGregor; McShane, Chester, Davies; Robertson, Quinn (Meyler 76’), Huddlestone, Livermore, Elmohamady; Ince (Rosenior 56’); Jelavić (Boyd 81’).
Goals: Jelavić (42’).
Red cards: Chester (14’).
Stoke City: Begović; Pieters, Wilson, Shawcross, Bardsley; Whelan (Bojan 41’), Sidwell (Adam 65’); Arnautović (Crouch 55’), N’Zonzi, Odemwingie; Diouf.
Goals: Shawcross (83’).
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