Town continue to wait for their first win under Paul Hurst after goals at either end of the match saw Hull City to a 2-0 victory at the KCOM Stadium. Jarrod Bowen struck after three minutes, then sub Jackson Irvine sealed the three points a minute from time with the Blues dropping to bottom of the table.

Flynn Downes returned to the Blues starting line-up in midfield alongside Cole Skuse with Jon Nolan taking the more advanced central role behind Jon Walters, who was the lone striker.

Kayden Jackson dropped to the bench where Danny Rowe was included for the first time in the Championship this season. Janoi Donacien was again the loanee to miss out on a place in the 18.

In front of a very sparse KCOM Stadium crowd Hull took the lead from the first attack of the game in the third minute.

Downes dawdled and was caught in possession by Fraizer Campbell midway inside the Town half and the former Crystal Palace man played in Jarrod Bowen on the right of the box from where he dinked the ball over Dean Gerken with Matthew Pennington unable to clear off the line. It was Bowen’s third goal in three games against Town and his first of this season.

After the shock of conceding the early goal it took the Blues a little while to threaten. However, they briefly began to make some headway and on 13 Gwion Edwards worked space to cross from the right and Jordan Graham was just prevented from getting in a shot from the edge of the box.

Town came close to claiming an equaliser in the 16th minute from a well-worked corner. Graham’s deep flag-kick from the right was nodded back across the area by Skuse and Nolan headed wide at the near post when he will feel he ought to have done better.

However, almost immediately the Tigers came close to doubling their lead. Campbell again sent Bowen away, this time down the middle, and only a well-timed challenge from skipper Luke Chambers prevented the former Hereford forward from getting in a shot at goal.

The Blues were unable to get the ball away from their area and on 19 a cross from the left reached Campbell who failed to make contact with an acrobatic attempt at a volley.

Hull continued to put Town under pressure winning a number of corners, one of which Evandro flicked not too far over at the near post.

The Tigers continued to control the game but without creating further chances until the 33rd minute when Campbell headed over from a Todd Kane corner.

Town had made no impact at the other end since Nolan’s header but in the 34th minute Walters won a freekick midway inside the Hull half but Graham’s set piece towards the striker was too long.

The Blues were starting to make more of an impression, however, and a minute later Nolan played the ball into the box from the right to Walters, who turned it on to Graham on the left, from where the on-loan Wolves man curled a shot not too far wide.

Then, on 40, Graham’s cross from the left was poorly cleared by Stephen Kingsley to the edge of the box and Nolan struck a difficult half-volley over the bar. Soon after, Hull were forced to swap the injured Daniel Batty for Kevin Stewart.

Town continued to threaten and on 44 Knudsen’s very deep cross from the left reached Edwards rushing in at the back of the box and the Welshman volleyed powerfully against Kingsley.

Although the Blues had ended the half on top, they had been very much second best for most of the period and were fortunate to be only a goal behind.

The early goal inevitably gave the home side - without a win at home in their previous four games this season - a boost, while the Blues struggled to make an impact aside from the brief spell in which Nolan went close.

However, they might well have created an opening from when they could have grabbed a leveller during their spell just before the break.

Town started the second half on the front foot having most of the ball but without being able to carve out an early opportunity.

The Blues continued to take the game to the Tigers and in the 56th minute a cross from the right reached Graham at the far post but fell the wrong side of the winger and he was unable to get in a shot.

A minute later, a loose ball ran to Downes on the edge of the area but the midfielder scuffed his shot wide.

But Hull gradually began to get back on top and on 58 Gerken was forced into his first save of the second half from Campbell’s strike. The keeper was unable to hold on to the shot but Knudsen was first to the loose ball and showed composure to take his time and clear.

On 65 Campbell was booked following a foul on Downes, however the caution was more for a serious of transgressions rather than just that challenge.

A minute later, Town struck their first shot on target of the afternoon, however, Graham’s effort was too close to David Marshall, who saved comfortably. Hull switched Kingsley for Jackson Irvine in the 69th minute.

The Tigers went close to adding to their lead soon afterwards, Pennington nodding Evandro’s shot away from in front of the line after Bowen’s shot from a tight angle had fallen to the Brazilian.

Town made their first substitution of the afternoon in the 72nd minute, Jackson taking over from Downes. Seconds later, a Graham corner from the left flashed across the Hull six-yard box having been inadvertently flicked goalwards by a Hull head.

But the Tigers, and specifically Bowen, were still looking the most likely scorers of the game’s second goal. On 74 the Hull forward cut in from the right and hit a shot which Gerken did well to save with his foot. Soon after, Stewart was booked for a foul on Jackson.

Rowe took over from Edwards in the 79th minute with the former Macclesfield man on the left and Graham - who had made more of an impression than he had against Norwich - moving to the right.

Bowen threatened to score his second goal of the game once again in the 81st minute having been sent away behind the Blues’ backline but Gerken was out quickly to thwart him with Chambers also playing a part with his physicality.

On 86, with Hull still looking the more likely scorers of the game’s second goal, Ellis Harrison replaced Graham, then two minutes later Hull swapped Campbell for Beccles-born former Canary Chris Martin, who was making his debut for his new loan club.

And in the penultimate minute of scheduled time that second Tigers goal arrived. Evandro chipped a ball behind the Town defence for sub Irvine to run on to. Spence tried to hold off the Australian international but was brushed aside and the former Burton man beat Gerken confidently.

The whistle confirmed the Blues’ fourth away defeat in their first four games and Hull had claimed their first win at home at the fourth attempt.

It was a victory the home side deserved and they might well have had the game sewn up prior to Irvine’s late goal with Bowen in particular regularly threatening. The Tigers caused the Blues more defensive problems in open play than anyone else they have faced so far this season.

Town put in their poorest display of the season but had periods where they were on top however they never convinced that they were going to get anything from the game with Marshall in the Hull goal rarely seriously tested. The best chance was Nolan’s first-half header wide.

The Blues, now bottom of the table by two clear points with three sides ahead of them on five, now have back-to-back home games against Brentford and Bolton - second and 10th respectively - as they look to finally end their increasingly concerning wait for a win.

Hull City: Marshall, De Wijs, Burke, Evandro, Kane, Batty (Stewart 41), Bowen, Henriksen (c), Kingsley (Irvine 69), Campbell (Martin 88), Elphick. Unused: Long, Dicko, Grosicki, McKenzie.

Town: Gerken, Spence, Chambers (c), Pennington, Knudsen, Skuse, Downes (Jackson 72), Edwards (Rowe 79), Nolan, Graham (Harrison 86), Walters. Unused: Bialkowski, Chalobah, Ward, Edun. Referee: Tony Harrington (Cleveland). Att: 11,650.

Photo: Pagepix

itfchorry added 18:52 - Sep 15 We all want him to succeed - However I am very concerned that we are not scoring goals. Taking the pre-season games in to account, we have only scored more than 2 goals once. Having a lone striker is clearly not working. If he is going to persist with one up front, then he has to look at playing Andre Dozzell who can at least supply the required amunition. Very concerned that we have a team with none of our Accadamy players.

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Henrietta_R_Hippo added 18:54 - Sep 15 It's Deja Vu... all over again. Hurst is no Muck II. But nevertheless 15% into the season he is already "guilty" of a sizable number of Muck-esque dispositions. It ranges from just the naive, to the overly stubborn, to the pure baffling, to the directly unsound and ultimately to the pi$$ poor ones. The latter for example, continuing to believe in the wonders & miracles of just 1 man up front, especially against poorish league opposition more or less quote "there for the taking", in a 8 man completely newly assembled ragtag team BTW!, despite just about all previous games this season having shown such a singular strike-force, whether it consist of an former overrated league or league 2 striker or an otherwise valuable 35 year old on-loan former ITFC icon, as generally woefully thin & anemic this way?! Well what do you know? It's simply very akin to many of Muck's more defiant & dead-stubborn repeated mistakes, which many ITFC fans rightly dubbed a variation of Albert E's: The Definition Of Insanity [or utter cluelessness at the very least!] = Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. On the other hand Hurst for unknown reason, or is it possibly an unmistakable *early* sign of sheer desperation on his part?, seems to moreover now having ditched his initially much welcome here at ITFC ball-to-feet ideology... for you guessed it, aimless & pointless HoofBall. A la good ol' archaic Muck of course. So let's see it in a bigger picture. Thus far besides Hurst exactly like the manager he preceded having shown imho shocking little or no faith or patience in our own youth product on contract, we also have: Nonoptimal starting XI's (yes Hurst relentlessly insist that no ones place it's safe, yet he strangely keep picking Muck's must beloved "The 3 most Proper Blokes" the first two BTW *inexplicably* signed to new contract-extensions at at time where Hurst's predecessor already had at least 1½ foot out the door according to Evans: Captain Calamity, Cool Cole Iniestia & The Danish Longthrower Extraordinaire to start every game, pretty much regardless of their level of performances, and seemingly oblivious to their with the exception of the odd aberration notorious & outright fabulous combined inadequate *forward* passing skills?!), we have nonoptimal or in the isolated case of just the lone striker plain anemic formations, we have experienced nonoptimal or way too late substitutions, and oh yes we do seem to generally lack a so called "Plan B"... all so woefully reminiscent of good ol' archaic Muck ---- LMAO! Just for the record while I vehemently wanted obnoxious Muck & his prehistoric *anti-football* gone, preferably several seasons ago!, my real focal point is that it's really Evans who is and always has been the MAIN problem here. And this Scrooge-like "ITFC's debt is [conveniently] owed to myself" sheer corporate-tax-deduction-fixated yet reportedly £700+ mill net worth owner's inherent mixture of utter football cluelessness and utter indifference to the game of football, despite claiming otherwise in his lone toecurling scripted & blatantly too-good-to-be-even-half-truthful interview in his around 10 years tenure here , will eventually run this once proud club more or less completely into the ground. And I'm not talking just about an apparently inevitable trip to League 1 here folks! Evan's ITFC R.I.P.

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alfromcol added 18:54 - Sep 15 Some posters keep on about Hurst selling our best players. Fact - they all wanted out anyway. McGoldrick to get nearer home, Garner to get nearer home and Waghorn for a pot of gold - nothing to do with Hurst. Desparate times. FGS get Spence out of this team, how can Hurst consider him to be Championship standard?
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blueboy1981 added 18:55 - Sep 15 Agree totally Dissboyitfc - I sat with two West Ham season ticket holders and they were very impressed with our performance and said 'you will do well this season with that team'. Maybe their opinion has to be questioned agreed, with West Ham also at the bottom - but I to, was encouraged by that performance to say the least. All change since though .... !!
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NoelTheDub added 18:56 - Sep 15 First post of the season as i was giving the new manager and team time but not looking good.Hoofball up to Walters a 35yr old on his own Mc Carthy 2 nothing changed there.If we are going to hoofball Walters needs bloody help a second striker.We took a gamble with mr Hurst so far he is in big trouble hope things turn around as a change was needed but dont wait until its to late to get someone else in if hes failing.

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bluemike1969 added 19:00 - Sep 15 Positivity.... How can I find humour in this? I have been through the good, the bad and the John Duncan and this in my mind is just total dross. The longer it goes on the more the others pull away and we are left in no mans land. Felstow1978....Calling passionate supporters who also love this club w@nkers is just pathetic and inappropriate in my book. down mark me all you like mate but never and I mean never, insult your fellow fans just because they don't agree with you! Now mark that down son!

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Bluebongo added 19:00 - Sep 15 Paul Hurst is clearly out of his depth.
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ITFCsince73 added 19:09 - Sep 15 Henrietta. Is that you mickstacticzzzzz??
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Tractorboy1985 added 19:17 - Sep 15 Evans OUT!! When will you lot realise????
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Dissboyitfc added 19:17 - Sep 15 This one up front nonsense must surely stop! PH teams are not known for being prolific scorers, that served him ok in league 1 with league one players, but not so good with league 1 players in the championship! We played what was basically 442 against Norwich and it was much better, we looked more of a threat and the players seemed to enjoy it more!
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buryblue77 added 19:18 - Sep 15 I was optimistic about this season but I think this is showing that it's not working out for Paul. I think we should give him 5 more games and if he hasn't made considerable progress then it's time to try something else, trouble is who is is available and who would want to come to a club in this, the toughest of leagues with no money. I think our time at this level has come to an end and I'm not sure Evans has the funds to get us where we need to be. Oh well, we might be competitive in League 1.

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TimmyH added 19:18 - Sep 15 @blueboy81........' this will all have come to a head by Xmas, maybe sooner, one way or another........ !!! - If your talking about Hurst going if we continue with our poor results I'd like to agree with you but Evans has a track record of not sacking managers when he should, and delaying far too long.
4

jas0999 added 19:20 - Sep 15 Where do we go from here? MM rightly left the club as the atmosphere was toxic and his style of football could no longer be tolerated. Yet, at the moment, Hurst looks anything like the answer. He of course needs time, but as the games tick by and we fail to win or even look like winning the tougher it will become. This squad simply doesn't look good enough. Too much change. Not enough seasoned Championship experienced players. Worse, the club seem to have made money in transfers this pre season - and it shows. We can't defend. We can't score. Some of the loans in particular look no better than our own youngsters or what we had. This is worrying times.

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TimmyH added 19:27 - Sep 15 Don't you find it strange though how Garner and Waghorn wanted out at the same time after only being here 1 season?, they both didn't want to be nearer home when they were at Rangers!....the question is were they in Hurts's plans at all? and if so Evans wanted to make a buck on the back of them replacing with a league 1 and 2 player. Saved us last season might be our undoing this one...

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bluemike1969 added 19:28 - Sep 15 jas0999.....I couldn't agree more with you and, as much as I didn't always agree with you last season, I think most of us can agree with this. We are not creative enough and we are not determined enough. We have too many loanies and lower league players. Why did we loan out Nydam? why did we loan out Adeyemi? and why are we not playing Dozzell? These boys are passionate about our club. I worked with Tristan at St Benedicts in Colchester and he was then and still is now, focused on ITFC, yet we let these guys go out and bring in others that can't gel together. I hope I am wrong but I only see disaster.

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MickMillsTash added 19:28 - Sep 15 I don't leave early - but for this I did That Performance was a shambles from the start -What was the Plan ? Kicking it long to Walters and not getting anyone around him. Persisting with this tactic when it did not work- 2 weeks off for that Useless Useless selection Useless Tactics Useless Organisation The players look lost- the new signings bewildered, not even Nolan looks as if believes in Hurst I'm worried - we've not played anyone any good yet and Brentford will murder us We need 3 teams worse than us- there aren't Not long before we might be cut adrift,

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positivity added 19:29 - Sep 15 you can (and should) find humour in anything, do you remember "we want 1" when we lost 9-0? he's only had 7 games, we've been unlucky in some, impressive in some, awful in some, he needs to build a team from a vast number of newcomers, and that's not gpoing to happen in 7 (or 17 games). if we get rid, we're back to square one with a new manager who wants to bring in his own players (and can't till january), more unrest, more uncertainty, no guarantee of anything better. give ph till december, if we're adrift then, we can look at it, anything sooner is shooting ourselves in the foot

0

bluemike1969 added 19:33 - Sep 15 Positivity.....To that then mate I will start singing........"Always look on the bright side of life" "see Brian, its not too bad after all" I may have to play this all night
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Umros added 19:41 - Sep 15 Hi press, attacking football"..............with a 35 year old loanee up front, no disrespect to the great Jon Walters. A manager out of his depth?
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Tractorboy1985 added 19:51 - Sep 15 F U all the McCarthy outers.. best manager since BFJ... done a fantastic job with the shoe string he was given!! I'd give my left boll0ck to have that playoff side back!
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ipswichgirl76 added 19:56 - Sep 15 Things can only get better as can't get worse
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kev180max added 20:10 - Sep 15 The lone striker is not working but the worrying thing is we look like conceding all the time. We have never looked like winning a game yet. Very worrying.
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kev180max added 20:10 - Sep 15 The lone striker is not working but the worrying thing is we look like conceding all the time. We have never looked like winning a game yet. Very worrying.
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kev180max added 20:10 - Sep 15 The lone striker is not working but the worrying thing is we look like conceding all the time. We have never looked like winning a game yet. Very worrying.
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jas0999 added 20:19 - Sep 15 Blue boy - please accept apologies; I was completely against you Burley suggestion in the summer. You were right. We need someone like him. PH needs some experienced help.
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