Saturday 17 October 2015 19:48, UK
Hull boss Steve Bruce was delighted his gamble to play Abel Hernandez paid off as his second-half goal earned a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship.
The striker only arrived back in the country on late Thursday after his international exploits with Uruguay where he scored against Bolivia in their World Cup qualifier in midweek.
He showed no ill-effects of his globe-trotting and registered a point for the Tigers after his 50th-minute goal at Hillsborough cancelled out Fernando Forestieri's first-half opener for Wednesday.
It was his fifth strike of the season and Bruce was a happy man.
"He has been halfway around the world, played in Bolivia, which is one of the highest altitudes in earth," Bruce said.
"The big thing was coming back from scoring for Uruguay, who have got Suarez and Cavani, he's in decent company and you could see yesterday that he's had a good week and he's had a good couple of weeks.
"Long may that continue because everyone needs a goalscorer and he at the moment is doing well.
"I thought about not playing him but yesterday in training made my mind up because he was as bright as a button, he was lively. So I thought he was in a rich vein of form, but you take a bit of a gamble."
Hull's performance in the second half of this Yorkshire derby was a big improvement after a poor first-half display.
They could have gone on to win it after Hernandez's leveller, but Bruce was content with the point.
"We knew that was going to be difficult, that was arguably the best Sheffield Wednesday team I have seen over the last few years," Bruce added. "They have got an impressive coach, they have got a bit of quality they have brought in, they are a handful and the crowd at last seem like they have got something to shout about, which is good for the city.
"It's a steeped-in-history club and it's good to see them on the mend if that's the right word."
Wednesday put in a spirited first-half performance and led in the 28th minute through Forestieri.
They too had chances to add to their lead and head coach Carlos Carvalhal knew the failure to get a second when they were on top was costly.
"I said before the game we would play against one of the strongest team in the Championship, they have a lot of experience in the Premier League," the Portuguese said. "They are organised and have a good coach.
"I am very happy with our team and players, we played special in the first half, we scored and could have scored more. It was complete justice, the score at half-time and if we got a second goal the story would be different.
"Because they are strong team they had a reaction in the second half. They were better in the second half, but we created more chances in the first half, they had big problems.
"But I think a point is correct, but I am happy because we played a strong team. It's a point that is positive."
