Manchester City played out a seventh successive draw as Hull City came back to hold them 1-1.
Hughes' men held to seventh straight draw
Manchester City played out a seventh successive draw as Hull City came back to hold them 1-1.
The Tigers' poor performance in the corresponding fixture last Boxing Day prompted Phil Brown to give his half-time team-talk on the pitch but he could have few complaints with the effort of his players on their return to Eastlands.
Man City were made to toil in the opening 45 minutes despite some bright moments from the returning Robinho, but they did manage to break the deadlock on the stroke of the interval when Shaun Wright-Phillips' long-range effort was deflected past Matt Duke by the head of Anthony Gardner.
Hull rarely looked like getting an equaliser but Jimmy Bullard salvaged a late point with a penalty eight minutes from time, after a controversial decision by the referee.
Shining light
In a drab first half that City dominated without creating much, Robinho was one of the few shining lights.
Am impish curling shot from the edge of the area brought the crown to its feet as it fizzed wide and a well-executed overhead kick was not that far away when the former Real Madrid star next had a sight of goal.
Robinho also played a significant role in the Blues goal, although it was only as a by-product of being chopped down in his own half by Paul McShane.
At a time when referees seem to be being berated at every turn, Lee Probert deserves plenty of credit for the way he did his job, applying an advantage City took maximum advantage of.
In ferrying the ball quickly up field, the Blues finally gave themselves a chance to run at the Hull defence.
Wright-Phillips eventually found himself with the ball at his feet, letting fly from 20 yards.
Hull keeper Duke appeared to have it covered but as he set himself to make a routine save, Gardner tried to head the ball and succeeded only in sending it into the bottom corner.
It was harsh luck on Hull, who had defended stoutly even if they had been pretty non-existent as an attacking force.
Alarmed
All that changed within a minute of the restart as City's defence fell asleep in a manner that must have alarmed Hughes.
There was little obvious danger in a ball that was bouncing about just outside the City box. But one simple pass from Jozy Altidore provided Richard Garcia with a clear sight of goal.
Garcia calmly lifted his shot over Shay Given but thankfully for the Blues, Joleon Lescott had spotted the danger and cleared off the line.
It was the nearest Hull got to a leveller until Probert made his controversial call.
Probert left Kolo Toure shaking his head after spotting what could have been a foul by the Ivory Coast international on Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink or a handball by Lescott, both of which would have been pretty harsh.
And Bullard definitely had the last laugh. The midfielder performed a repeat of Phil Brown's controversial half-time team-talk from the corresponding fixture last season.
| Manchester City |
Team Statistics |
Hull City |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 9 |
Corners |
2 |
| 15 |
Fouls |
12 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.5 |
Passing Success |
70.5 |
| 17 |
Tackles |
26 |
| 88.2 |
Tackles Success |
76.9 |
| 55.9 |
Possession |
44.1 |
| 53.5 |
Territorial Advantage |
46.5 |
|
