S Poddar
A key goalkeeping error gave Hull City a welcome victory over Sunderland, greatly increasing their chances of survival with a 1-0 hard-earned victory at the Stadium of Light. An evening to recall for Sunderland’s Anthony Patterson saw him make the first-half misjudgment which provided Hull with the only score of the contest. The guests made the most of the mistake and defended hard to claim three precious points.
Patterson’s mistake was in the 18th minute when he could not handle a corner from Joe Gelhardt. Sunderland’s shot-stopper seemed to lose the ball as it curved towards the near post, likely being blocked by his teammate Patrick Roberts’ clearance attempt. The ball eluded Patterson’s hand and into the net, placing Hull on course for their fourth away victory in five matches.
Sunderland, still smarting from a defeat at Leeds a few days ago, found it hard to regain their flow. Their efforts at reviving came short as they were unable to breach Hull’s tight defense. This was their first case of consecutive defeats this season, an area of concern in their pursuit to keep the pressure on to achieve a top-six finish.
Gelhardt’s crosses still unsettled Sunderland’s defense. A deeper corner almost saw Hull score their second goal in the 24th minute, but Patterson, who was set on making up for his mistake, responded well to punch the ball away and stop it curling straight into the net. The frustration for the home team increased when Luke O’Nien’s header went into the net, but was disallowed for being offside. Sunderland’s best opportunity in the first half fell to Dan Ballard, who headed Chris Rigg’s cross, but his header was easily caught by Hull’s Ivor Pandur.
As the game progressed, Sunderland should have restored parity just before the hour mark. Trai Hume’s precise delivery found Wilson Isidor unmarked at the far post, but the forward inexplicably failed to direct his header on target. That miss summed up Sunderland’s evening—a night filled with missed opportunities and near misses.
Hull, though, continued to pose a threat on the break. Matt Crooks believed he had doubled their advantage with a fashionable back-heel strike after Patterson had initially deflected Kyle Joseph’s shot, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised for offside. Patterson, who had committed the error earlier, made a good save soon after to keep out a deflected cross finding its way into the net.
Sunderland threatened the equalizer with the dying seconds, with Mayenda missing an opportunity gilt in the final stretch after Isidor gained possession within Hull’s half. Rather than shoot home or find a target, Mayenda shot wide of the post and left the Hull crowd bewildered. Patrick Roberts threatened with his curling run in the remaining minutes, yet his attempt whizzed fractionally beyond the post. Hull remained solid to deny their rivals and take a hard-fought three points, and Sunderland’s home troubles persisted. They have won only once in their previous four league home games, a bad sign for their hopes of promotion.
Elsewhere, Plymouth Argyle rescued a vital point in their relegation battle against Cardiff City. Substitute Muhamed Tijani scored in the 67th minute to tie the scores at 1-1, saving his team from what would have been a potentially harmful loss. The visitors had established an early lead when Yousef Salech scored in the 14th minute, putting Cardiff on the path to a potentially vital win in their struggle for survival. Though, their work was greatly complicated eight minutes into the second half when Dimitrios Goutas got his marching orders and left them ten men short.
Plymouth took advantage of the numerical superiority, pushing forward in pursuit of an equalizer. Their determination was rewarded when Tijani, brought on from the substitutes’ bench, made a telling contribution by scoring a well-taken goal. Both teams strained for a winner in the dying minutes, but ultimately had to be content with a point apiece—a result that maintains their survival hopes but does little to alleviate the relegation concerns hanging over both clubs.
At the same time, Millwall had come from behind to win 1-0 at Pride Park against Derby County, thanks to a stoppage-time Josh Coburn strike. A highly tense and dramatic match, especially towards the end, Coburn was presented with an opportunity to claim the winner from the penalty spot towards the end but had his effort saved. But he was quickest to react to the rebound, finishing the ball into the net in the fifth minute of stoppage time to shatter Derby hearts.
The loss makes Derby’s plight deeper as they continue to be stuck in the bottom three. More concerning for their supporters, they have not scored a home goal this season, a figure that highlights their attacking deficiencies. Millwall, meanwhile, continue to be in the running for a play-off spot, with this win keeping their promotion hopes very much alive.
As the Championship season enters its defining period, all those teams who are in the running for promotion and relegation are coming under pressure. Sunderland will have to snap back into action quickly in order to stop sliding down the league, while Hull will draw strength from a dogged display which might prove to be the difference between staying up in the division. With every point increasingly precious, the battle at either end of the table is intensifying.
