Hull 2-1 Millwall: Jarrod Bowen and Marc Pugh get Tigers back to winning ways

Hull bounced back from a mauling by Brentford to beat Millwall 2-1 in front of a sparse crowd of just over 10,000 at the KCOM Stadium.

The Tigers had been beaten 5-1 on Saturday but recovered to take the three Sky Bet Championship points with goals from Jarrod Bowen and Marc Pugh.

Bowen claimed the first goal of the night as he looked to get a faint touch to Markus Henriksen's shot after eight minutes.

Central defender Shaun Hutchinson levelled the scores a little over 10 minutes before the break with a close-range finish.

But Marc Pugh restored Hull's lead three minutes before half-time when he shot low into the goal from around eight yards.

Hull took a deserved lead in the ninth minute when Kamil Grosicki slid the ball across goal from wide on the left and it came out to Henriksen. The Hull captain went past his marker and his goal-bound shot was flicked in by Bowen.

Millwall had to make an early change as Murray Wallace was injured in trying to clear during Hull's attack for the opening goal and had to be replaced by Steve Morison.

Grosicki curled a looping shot just wide with 25 minutes gone as the home side pressed for a second.

Bowen wanted one too many touches after bringing down Todd Kane's cross on the half-hour as Hull made the running against a toothless Millwall side.

But the visitors were level in the 34th minute as Hull failed to clear Morison's low ball from the right and Hutchinson shot into the corner from close range with his side's first effort on target.

Pugh got Hull back in front after 42 minutes when the midfielder brilliantly controlled Kane's cross from the right and marked his first start for the club with a low shot which beat Jordan Archer.

Jed Wallace fired low across the Hull goal as the visitors started the second half brightly and reminded the home team of the dangers of switching off.

David Marshall pulled off a one-handed save after 56 minutes, diving to his left as Ryan Tunnicliffe's shot in a packed area threatened a second equaliser.

Grosicki's fine work down the left deserved a better result but his low cross following a mazy run failed to pick out a team-mate.

The winger then forced a corner as his shot took a deflection with the home side looking for a third goal to wrap up the points.

Grosicki's next shot hit the post and bounced off Archer for a corner before Bowen shot just off target as Hull looked the more likely to add to the scoring.

Morison saw his late cross blocked by Marshall before Bowen cleared a Jake Cooper header off the line as Millwall searched in vain for a second goal.

The managers

Nigel Adkins: "We are doing everything we can to make it an exciting finish to the season. The result was the most important thing tonight. It was important to get three points to keep the season alive.

"At the start of the season we were expected to get relegated. We are six points off the play-offs. I said to the players after the game 'don't let the season fizzle out'."

Neil Harris: "They were two really poor goals we gave away. We are frustrated because we looked so solid and reliable for a couple of months. The first one is a good shot, it is going straight into Jordan's arms but it hits Bowen and goes into the net. We scored a goal, we were a real threat on the counter-attack. Then we give a debacle of a second goal away.

"We made three or four errors leading up to the goal. The boy controlled the ball eight yards out and scored. That is not good enough at this level."

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