Goals from ex-Blue Alex Bruce, Chuba Akpom and David Meyler saw Hull City to a comfortable victory over Town at the KC Stadium. Sub Bruce headed the opener in the 36th minute, Akpom made it 2-0 seven minutes later and Meyler vollyed home a brilliant third on 58.

Town boss Mick McCarthy made five changes to the team which drew 0-0 with Huddersfield on Saturday with Giles Coke handed his first league start alongside Jonny Parr, Kevin Bru, Larsen Touré and Daryl Murphy.

Cole Skuse (ankle) and David McGoldrick (groin) both missed out due to injury with Freddie Sears, Brett Pitman and Ainsley Maitland-Niles dropping to the bench.

Ryan Fraser (knee), Tommy Oar (concussion), Luke Hyam (knee) and Teddy Bishop (hamstring and shin splints) were also unavailable.

The Blues lined-up in a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation with Murphy in the centre of the front three with Parr on the left and Touré on the right, and Coke, Douglas and Bru the midfield trio.

Former Town loanee Jake Livermore started in midfield for the Tigers, while ex-Blues defender Bruce and one-time trialist Eldin Jakupović were on the bench.

The Blues started on the front foot and first Douglas, playing the Skuse role behind Bru and Coke, and then Touré won freekicks in dangerous areas but Town were unable to create an opening from either.

The visitors continued to look the more dangerous side and on nine Coke saw a strike from the edge of the area blocked by Moses Odubajo after a corner had been cleared to him. The home side immediately broke but Andy Robertson shot high and wide.

In the 12th minute Ahmed Elmohamady crossed for Abel Hernandez, who headed into the ground straight at Blues keeper Dean Gerken.

But the Blues were still having most of the ball and the game was largely being played in the Hull half of the field.

Just before the quarter hour, with the Blues enjoying long spells on the ball, Murphy’s backheel found skipper Luke Chambers on the right of the area and his powerful strike was deflected into the side-netting.

The home fans were starting to show their frustration with their team when Touré was given the space to shoot a minute later, the Guinean international’s effort hitting a Tigers defender.

Moments later Hull were forced into a substitution when defender Curtis Davies was replaced by ex-Blue Bruce.

Gerken was off his line quickly to clear from Hernandez in the 19th minute after the Uruguayan striker had been played in by Robertson.

In the 25th minute sub Bruce picked up the game’s first yellow card for an ugly challenge on Bru 30 yards out from goal. Full league debutant Coke took the kick and curled a shot just wide of Hull keeper Allan McGregor’s left post.

There was a scare for the Blues just before the half hour when Elmohamady out-ran Jonas Knudsen and cut the ball back to Sam Clucas in space but the ex-Chesterfield man scuffed what was a very good chance wide.

Two minutes later, Coke got his name in referee Christopher Kavanagh’s book for a foul on Meyler.

The home side were beginning to quieten the Blues down and get on top and in the 34th minute Elmohamady sent over another dangerous cross from the right but Hernandez again headed weakly to Gerken.

In the 36th minute the Tigers went in front. Parr and Tommy Smith scrambled the ball away from Bruce after Clucas’s corner from the left had fallen for the defender in the box. But the danger wasn’t gone and Clucas subsequently sent over a deep cross from the byline to the far post and Bruce looped a header over Gerken, under the bar and into the net.

Murphy looked to hit back straight away, turning his man and smashing a powerful 30-yard shot, but straight at McGregor.

On 40 Tigers skipper Michael Dawson was booked for pulling back Parr midway inside his own half. From the freekick, Christophe Berra scuffed a header wide.

Two minutes later, Meyler volleyed not far over from the edge of the box, but a second Hull goal wasn’t too long in coming.

Parr lost possession, Odubajo broke down the left and sent over a low cross towards Akpom, who slammed home from close range.

Neither side threatened again before referee Kavanagh blew his whistle to signal the end of the half.

Town will have been happy enough with their evening’s work up to the final 10 minutes of the period having taken the game to the home side and enjoying a large amount of the ball.

However, they had created little in the way of clear-cut chances with Hull keeper McGregor not forced to make any significant saves.

For the goals, the Blues made heavy weather of clearing the initial danger then allowed Bruce to win the ball when it was sent back in, while the second came after possession was surrendered in a dangerous area.

With Town having a mountain to climb in the second half, McCarthy swapped Parr and Coke for Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Freddie Sears and moved to 4-4-2.

Four minutes after the break, the Blues were caught cold as Hull took a quick freekick on the right, Elmohamady sending over a cross which Gerken pawed from under his bar.

But Town were also making some early headway and shortly after Bru had felt he’d been fouled not far outside the box, Sears scraped a 25-yard shot wide.

On 52 Elmohamady broke away down the right having been sent away by Hernandez but Berra got across to block his shot.

Five minutes later, Akpom cuts inside from the right and shot just over, then Elmohamady volleyed over with the Tigers by now well on top.

And the home fans didn’t have to wait too much longer for their side’s third goal. Clucas’s cross from the left was deflected into the air to the edge of the box and Meyler took the ball on his chest and volleyed past Gerken.

Brett Pitman replaced Touré in the 72nd minute with the home side well in control and a Town comeback looking hugely unlikely.

Maitland-Niles squandered a rare Town opportunity as the game moved into its final 10 minutes, the lively Sears’s cross from the right deflecting to the on-loan Arsenal man, who shanked his shot at 90 degrees to the target.

With five minutes remaining Maitland-Niles was fouled by Meyler 25 yards out to the left of goal and Pitman forced McGregor into his first serious save of the evening down to his left, Clucas turning the loose ball behind. Following the corner, Douglas shot over from the edge of the box, the Blues’ final effort of another disappointing evening.

Town’s poor run of form continues with McCarthy’s men now without a win in five league games, having won just once in their last eight in the Championship. They have dropped to 11th in the table and are now without a goal in three games.

After enjoying a decent first half hour, albeit without creating much in front of goal, the Blues never recovered from Hull’s two quick goals shortly before half-time and in the end were well beaten.

Any hope of a second-half comeback was ended by Meyler’s excellent third and the Tigers comfortably saw out the remainder of the game.

Town’s early season dreams of an automatic promotion challenge currently seem a long, long way away with another tough trip to Nottingham Forest - where they are without a win since December 1999 - on Saturday.

Hull City: McGregor, Odubajo, Dawson (c) (Maguire 80), Davies (Bruce 18), Robertson, Meyler, Livermore, Elmohamady, Clucas, Akpom, Hernandez (Aluko 68). Unused: Jakupović, Huddlestone, Maloney, Diamé.

Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Coke (Maitland-Niles 46), Bru, Douglas, Touré (Pitman 72), Parr (Sears 46), Murphy. Unused: Bialkowski, Malarczyk, McDonnell, Emmanuel. Referee: Christopher Kavanagh (Lancashire). Att: 15,942 (Town: 456).

Photo: Action Images

Razor added 14:53 - Oct 21 Just got back from last night and Isuspect a lot of the pro MM comments are from people who were not actually at the game. Whilst MM was unlucky to lose Didds and Skuse on the day it was an appalling depressing performance and they even took off their best defender with 10 mts to go as it was so easy for them----yes it was embarassing. Guess Jonny Williams will get the winner on Saturday just rub salt in to the wounds and then we will be heading for the bottom six-------not angry just depressed as can not see it changing.

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Lightningboy added 14:56 - Oct 21 I just hope Marcus isn't looking at his list of "managers who have got teams promoted" again. Keane - tick Jewell - tick McCarthy - tick.... Who next?..Pearson?..whatever happens be it this season,next or whenever,the next manager has to be right for our club and a style of play that our fans demand...there's no point in wanting Mick to play attractive football - he hasn't got a bloody clue how to do that and we all know it..what I do expect from him and his team is organisation and 100% effort from the first second to the last. I don't dislike Mick and will be the first in the queue to shake his hand when he goes but he's making himself unlikable by continuing with his stubborness and stupidity at the glaringly obvious.

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Geoff added 15:19 - Oct 21 Well said Dwilliams57 i have been going since 1974 this too is my last season i can take no more.Sheepshanks sold us out to Evans i feel the penny has finally dropped i can not wait for this season to end.
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brittaniaman added 16:01 - Oct 21 Brighton seemed to have stole our thunder this season ??? they seem to have got it together with there summer shopping better than we did ???? did they shop at Harrods ????? 12pts ahead now, because last season they were well down, and the same with Birmingham. We all know it is early days !! the same old cliche !!! BUT we have got to stop this Rot !!! Starting with you MICK !!!!!!!

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layhamite added 16:28 - Oct 21 looking at the pattern of play and style of the current team is too easy for the opposition to predict.count how many times our mids win the ball and recycle back to our back 4 then murphy diag run to a corner,sears (or whoever)will then ghost run off the flick.away teams change lineups to accomodate this sometimes even swapping out centre backs to wing backs! add this to a poor squad that has poor creativity options are you guys actually surprised at the outcome?

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tractorgrl added 16:50 - Oct 21 Perspective, this is not just happening to our beloved ITFC, someone i know supports Blackburn (ugh) and said we beat you then lost to MK Dons, this league is totally bonkers!!
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essex57 added 17:04 - Oct 21 1rwr totaly disagree mate if you couldnt see whoes fault it was for the 3rd goal you shouldnt be commenting on the first 2 there were3 culprits for the 3rd and not one of them made a challenge
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paulnstar added 18:03 - Oct 21 time to go mick think we should pop down the a12 to get another former player in tony humes ,his team plays nice football on the deck with a better budget to work with could be another burley
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blueboy1981 added 18:15 - Oct 21 ......... and still some scrape the edge of the barrel, to come up with half hearted excuses. Thought we had seen the last of clueless managers - but they say everything goes in 'three's' - and we've now had them. For the sake of our Club - get it right next time Mr Evans - or give up yourself. As much as I want it to - I cannot see it changing to be honest. Heartbreaking for people who REALLY care - to see us fall so far from grace.

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KMANSers added 18:35 - Oct 21 Right Owner + Right Investment + Right Manager= Promotion Simples!
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blueboy1981 added 18:39 - Oct 21 ....... my money still goes into the Club - but last week against Huddersfield, I got ready to leave home for Portman Road (normally looking forward to such) but at the last minute I felt I knew what was to follow and just couldn't be bothered. I saved the Fuel, Car Park fee, Drink / Eat's - and my seat stayed empty. Unheard of until now - but true - and SAD. And I missed nothing to be honest.

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MattinLondon added 19:14 - Oct 21 Being realistic every player is going to have a bad game every now and then. A good manager will either shout at them or put a fatherly arm around them and other them support and advice - whilst still telling them that a poor performance is unacceptable. Two poor performances in a row should see squad players or youngsters such as Emmanuel, Myrick or even Handball play instead. Too many players seem to play like they know they won't be dropped. Personally I think wholesale changes are in order. Maybe this is why MM isn't considered a premier league manager. He is just too conservative, unwilling to change and far too stubborn for his own good.

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Granthamblue62 added 19:15 - Oct 21 These are dark days indeed. I will be disappointed if MM gets the chop because after the dire Keane and Jewell I felt this appointment was spot on. I felt that his gritty, no nonsense approach would cultivate a close knit, hard working team. The worrying aspect now is that he appears completely clueless how to turn things around. The old adage of 'if it aint broke, don't fix it' is appropriate for many avenues of endeavour. However, it is glaringly obvious to supporters (but not MM) that Town is very 'broke' indeed. Confidence must be at a low ebb and performances mirror a team staring down the barrel of relegation. The slide is so unbelievable its almost as if something else has gone wrong behind the scenes (like the dressing room scandals that plagued Burley's dying days). Whatever the issue, McCarthy appears to have lost the plot and incapable of fixing it.

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essex57 added 19:49 - Oct 21 Why do a lot of contributors have to always find a fall guy?
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gino88 added 20:08 - Oct 21 So 1 win in the league since mid August which was a lucky win at Leeds. We had just under 500 brilliant fans who headed up to the dive (Hull) on a cold Tuesday night to find a shambolic starting lineup: - 1.First major mistake was Gerken in goal. Poor Bart last played a league game against Preston in August, which led to us achieving 3 wins on the bounce. Bart then suffers a family bereavement, and MM decides he is gonna teach Bart a lesson by sticking with one of the worst goalkeepers in the league (Dean Gerken) regardless of the countless mistakes he makes in games, the amount of times he literally stands still and watches a ball go past him in his goal, his inability to command his defence and awful goalkeeping traits in general. If anyone out there can make a good case for Gerken playing, please explain!! 2. A defence of Chambers (RB); Smith (RCB); Berra (LCB); Knudsen (LB). We have two very very poor full backs as our number 1 choices. I was thinking back to our 2000 play-off victory season, and George Burley frequently implemented a 3-5-2 formation to accommodate Mark Venus, Tony Mowbray and John McGreal. MM clearly rates his three centre-backs even if we don't, so why not play the wallies in positions they will feel far more comfortable in. Chambers plays as the RCB, Berra as the CB and Smith as the LCB. No need for them to edge past the halfway line, just defend!! Then, make use of Knudsen as a LWB and Parr as the RWB. Parr is not a midfielder, he is an attacking full-back and would fit well into a wing back system as would Knudsen. 3. Back in 2000, we had a midfield trio of Matt Holland (goals), Jim Magilton (creator/deep lying playmaker) and Jermaine Wright (box to box player). An excellent combination of midfielders which we can now only dream of forming. Our three main midfielders were Bru, Douglas and Coke yesterday. The only one I would keep in the starting 11 would be Bru who sits in front of the defence. I would then add in Bishop along with McGoldrick to add attacking flair. Up front, I would have Sears and Murphy. We would surely be more of a threat with a 3-5-2 formation, but MM has so many tactical flaws, it is unheard of. How only he sees Chambers as a right back is beyond me, and why he believes Gerken is the stronger goalkeeper astounds me. People talk about Chambers being the personality of the squad. I happen to believe MM is now too good pals with Chambers and his defensive gang, that he hasn't got the balls to drop him. I guarantee we will all be discussing the same issues on Saturday after another defensive cock-up. I just pray our fortunes change soon, or the personnel has to change and that means the manager!!

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warktheline added 20:19 - Oct 21 Essex57, your point is????
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blueboy1981 added 20:30 - Oct 21 ........ no point asking warktheline - do you really expect an answer ?
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TimmyH added 20:56 - Oct 21 agree @warktheline -I was thinking that today, MM needs to think he's just started and we're in the relegation zone and points need to be made. Perhaps some of the players are letting him down (we know that to be the case towards the defense and a few other players further forward) but that is why Mick is manager to motivate and get the players hungry season in season out. As I said perhaps Mick is urging for another 'big carrot' to be dangled in front of him!

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wayway added 20:57 - Oct 21 At last people are beginning to realise what a complete disaster the owners are. Firstly is there a real Marcus Evans? See if you can find anything about the man on the net. Yes, you will read about the company but for all I know it could belong to (Fred) Marcus and (George) Evans, take your pick. All I know is we have received money for Cresswell and Mings and NONE of that has been re invested in the team and those who say money doesn't buy success just remember what was done with the money from the sale of Kieron Dyer. Please don't say the money has gone on wages, how much do you think Coke, Douglas, Toure and the rest of the no hopers Boring Billy signed in the are on. NO, the Evans Corporation treat the club which is still losing money as a tax liability to which they can write off against their profits. McCarthy will not be sacked, one because they don't give two hoots and two because he is prepared to dance to their tune on a good salary. And the fans? What do you think

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TimmyH added 21:00 - Oct 21 ...and then he might start being a manager again (and miraculously start getting quite a few points when we look dead and buried).
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Lukeybluey added 21:06 - Oct 21 can we play with more than 1 goalkeeper in goal?
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Keaneish added 21:24 - Oct 21 I wonder what Mick and Terry talked about on the coach on the way home and on the phone during the rest day today. With all that experience from similar slumps at Sunderland and Wolves they must have been in this situation many a time and know a way to eradicate the problems. But does it feel like it to anyone? Does it feel like they're going to regroup, galvanise, rejuvenate and revitalise the squad on the training pitch over the next two days to turn the corner? It doesn't does it? Not by a long stretch. So where does that leave us?

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blueboy1981 added 21:26 - Oct 21 wayway ........... quite a sad statement of facts - but who can dispute the correctness of your post ? Personally, I think you are absolutely spot on. As for McCarthy changing - you rightly state he hardly needs to, so therefore he won't. Very few really understand how our once proud Club has changed - and are in constant denial - we are still IPSWICH TOWN - but in name only, is the reality of it all.

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Bert added 23:27 - Oct 21 Thankfully not everyone shares the views of consistent contributors. The silent majority are the ones that actually realise that without Evans we would have been sunk, without MM we would be in League 1 and actually it has been far far worse than this in previous years.Yes it's very worrying but it is all doable. For those that say the dressing room is broken and the spirit of the players has gone, how do they know ? They don't but it serves their desire to push their ill informed opinions on sites like this. Thankfully, most supporters don't read them and talk sensibly to each other about what needs fixing rather than denigrate those whose job it is to find a remedy.

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Bert added 23:28 - Oct 21 Thankfully not everyone shares the views of consistent contributors. The silent majority are the ones that actually realise that without Evans we would have been sunk, without MM we would be in League 1 and actually it has been far far worse than this in previous years.Yes it's very worrying but it is all doable. For those that say the dressing room is broken and the spirit of the players has gone, how do they know ? They don't but it serves their desire to push their ill informed opinions on sites like this. Thankfully, most supporters don't read them and talk sensibly to each other about what needs fixing rather than denigrate those whose job it is to find a remedy.

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