Hull City Vs Derby County: Tigers back to winning ways in 4-2 MKM Stadium thriller

Hull City ended a run of poor results with a 4-2 home victory over Derby County in a match that mattered for both sides' promotion hopes. The hull city vs derby county clash produced a four-goal first half and late strikes from John Egan and Lewis Koumas that ultimately decided the game.

Late impact from John Egan and Lewis Koumas turned the game

John Egan scored his first goal since September to restore a lead for the third time in the match, finishing off a well-worked passing move that broke a tense second half. Two minutes after coming on as a substitute, Lewis Koumas completed a breakaway to seal all three points for Sergej Jakirovic's side. The match remained in the balance until around the 75th minute before those late interventions put the result beyond doubt.

First half exploded with Elder own goal, McBurnie strike and Derby replies

The MKM Stadium first half featured four goals. Hull took the lead when Amir Hadziahmetovic whipped over a swinging corner that rebounded off Callum Elder into the net. Ryan Giles and Liam Millar had combined before the corner, with Giles attempting to catch Josh Vickers at his near post after a smart overlap. Craig Forsyth levelled with a cool side-footed finish after 17 minutes when Ivor Pandur could only paw Lewis Travis's effort into his path. Oli McBurnie then restored Hull's lead with a finish inside the box; that goal was his 13th of the campaign. Sammie Szmodics drew Derby level again three minutes before the break after Patrick Agyemang recovered a deep corner and set up Szmodics with a cross from the right.

Key moments and individual actions that swung possession

Derby exploited a weakness down Hull's right-hand side during the first half. Szmodics initially recovered an aimless deep corner before passing to Lewis Travis, who pushed into the penalty area and struck accurately at goal. Ivor Pandur reacted but could only deflect the ball into Forsyth's path, and Forsyth could not miss. Five minutes later Patrick Agyemang — described in the context as a USA international — produced a weaving run along the right flank and struck just over the crossbar as Derby continued to create chances.

Standings, attendance and form: what the result means

The match was played at the MKM Stadium in front of 20, 391 supporters. The win consolidated Hull's place in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs and saw the Tigers leapfrog Millwall into fourth. The result keeps Hull six points behind Middlesbrough, who occupy places in the top two of the Championship in the provided context. Derby have lost three of their last four and now sit six points from the play-off spots. Hull had suffered a shock 3-1 loss to QPR over the weekend that dented their top-two hopes; whether Hull had lost their last two league games is unclear in the provided context.

Managers and post-match reaction, plus notable performances

Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic called it a "great victory" and praised the team effort, saying the players "fought as one" and describing the approach as more pragmatic because of the pitch; he said Hull were aggressive, on the front foot and stronger in the challenges compared with Saturday. Jakirovic added that Derby were "a very strong team physically" and that scoring the fourth goal when they did "was perfect as it ended the game. "

Derby head coach John Eustace expressed disappointment at the defeat, saying he was disappointed they lost and that the effort had been "fantastic tonight. " He said his side created "some unbelievable chances" and that on another night they could have scored five or six. Eustace also gave post-match thoughts following Derby's away clash with Hull City in the Sky Bet Championship.

Game context: momentum shifts and match narrative

The result ended a poor run for Hull as the game featured momentum swings from both sides: an early own goal, a sequence of equalisers, strong attacking play from Patrick Agyemang for Derby, and decisive late strikes from John Egan and Lewis Koumas. Hull returned to winning ways at home and Derby were left to reflect on missed chances and a run of mixed form.