Hull City Vs Derby County: Hull edge 4-2 after frenetic first half and late goals
In a match that mattered for promotion and play-off places, hull city vs derby county finished 4-2 as Hull recovered from being pegged back twice in a four-goal first half and sealed victory with late strikes. The win ended Hull's three-game winless run and kept both teams' promotion hopes very much in the conversation.
Late Egan and Koumas finishes put Hull in front
John Egan scored his first goal since September to give Hull the lead for the third time, finishing a well-worked passing move with what was also described as a fine spin and shot. Lewis Koumas added a fourth to seal the points shortly after coming on as a substitute; accounts place that strike either two minutes after he entered or around five minutes from time. The game was still in the balance until about the 75th minute, when Egan's effort put Hull ahead again.
Wild first half: Elder own goal, McBurnie's 13th and two Derby replies
The first half produced four goals. Hull took the lead when Amir Hadziahmetovic whipped a corner from the left and the ball rebounded off Callum Elder into the net — an own goal scored against his former side. Craig Forsyth levelled with a cool side-footed finish after 17 minutes when Ivor Pandur could only paw the ball into his path, following a sequence in which Sammie Szmodics initially recovered a deep corner and fed Lewis Travis into the area. Hull regained the lead when Oli McBurnie hammered home inside the box, his 13th goal of the campaign, only for Sammie Szmodics to slot in a leveller from a Patrick Agyemang cross from the right just before the break.
Errors and substitutions: Elder hooked at half-time, Gelhardt involved
Callum Elder’s evening included the own goal and another mistake when a reckless cross-field pass was cut out by Joe Gelhardt, a sequence that led to McBurnie's strike; Elder was replaced at half-time. Ryan Giles and Liam Millar had been instrumental in the opening goal build-up, with Giles trying to catch Josh Vickers unawares at his near post before Hadziahmetovic’s corner produced the own goal.
Injury and tactical change as Hull weathered a physical Derby side
Hull lost Ryan Giles to what looked like a recurrence of a hamstring problem; he limped off and will be assessed. Manager Sergej Jakirovic said the side had changed its style because of the pitch and played more pragmatically and aggressively — a deliberate shift from their usual build-up play — and praised the collective effort and challenges that helped secure the win.
Standings, form and the margins between promotion and play-offs
The result keeps Hull six points behind Middlesbrough, who occupy the top two positions, and moved the Tigers into fourth, leapfrogging Millwall. Hull had their automatic hopes dented by a shock 3-1 loss to QPR over the weekend but had also lost their last two league games before this win. Derby, beaten by Watford at the weekend, have now lost three of their last four and sit six points adrift of the play-off places.
Refereeing, bookings and managers' reactions
Referee Adam Herczeg drew criticism when he booked Patrick Agyemang early; Hull's manager described the first Derby goal as coming from an offside position and expressed frustration at the referee's control of the match, saying every time they conceded it was a poor goal. Derby manager John Eustace said he was disappointed to lose, praised his players' effort and suggested they created numerous chances, adding that on another night they could have scored five or six.
