Hull City vs Plymouth Argyle; Sky Bet Championship
Hull City vs Plymouth Argyle. Sky Bet Championship.
MKM StadiumAttendance18,772.
Hull City 2-0 Plymouth Argyle: Tigers earn vital win in relegation battle
Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Hull City and Plymouth Argyle at the MKM Stadium on Tuesday night; Joe Gelhardt and Abu Kamara seal a vital win for Tigers in bid to avoid the drop.
Tuesday 4 March 2025 23:36, UK
Joe Gelhardt and Abu Kamara scored second-half goals as Hull beat fellow Sky Bet Championship strugglers Plymouth 2-0 for their first home win of the year.
Gelhardt, on loan from Leeds, broke the deadlock after a tepid first period and Kamara finished off the move of the match to seal Hull's first win at the MKM Stadium since December.
The Tigers, who had failed to win their five previous home games, climbed up two places in the table to 19th, five points clear of the drop zone, while Plymouth's winless league run on the road this season was extended to 18 matches.
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The Pilgrims, who gave Manchester City a scare in the FA Cup at the weekend, failed to trouble Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur and slipped six points from safety with 11 games remaining.
Hull dominated first-half possession and, although they began to carve out half-chances after a quiet first 15 minutes, nothing came of them and neither keeper was seriously tested.
Referee Andy Davis waved away Gelhardt's penalty appeal when he went to ground after bursting into the area and Charlie Hughes' low angled shot was deflected into the side-netting.
Gustavo Puerta forced Conor Hazard into the game's first save, the Plymouth keeper keeping out the Colombia midfielder's header from Hughes' right-wing cross with his feet.
Plymouth threatened fleetingly before the break through Marco Sorinola's excellent free-kick, which was hooked clear by the outstretched Alfie Jones.
An uninspired first period, which showcased why both sides are struggling at the wrong end of the table, was followed by the opening goal less than three minutes after the restart.
Sean McLoughlin's low shot from the edge of the area was parried by Hazard and Gelhardt pounced to turn home the rebound for his second goal in nine appearances for the Tigers.
Hull pressed on for a second goal. Gelhardt was inches away from connecting with Kyle Joseph's cross and Joao Pedro was foiled by Hazard following Kamara's ball into the six-yard box.
Kamara then secured the Tigers a two-goal cushion. Pedro raced on to Puerta's superb through-ball, which had dissected the Argyle defence, and squared for Kamara to side-foot home.
McLoughlin rifled another long-range effort just over the crossbar, while Plymouth defender Bali Mumba's blocked shot in the closing stages was his side's first effort on goal.
The managers
Hull's Ruben Selles:
"It's three points. I'm very pleased with the performance of the team.
"We came today with the idea of being solid in the things that we do and only with that we can get a result. I think the result is a consequence of the way we played the game.
"As much as we can keep the situation in our hands - remember when we had the first press conference, we were rock-bottom and a couple of points away from anyone.
"I don't want to think about a second win in a row because every time we sit here talking about that - it's happened five times, this is my sixth victory - we end up not getting it.
"For me it's important that we arrive on Saturday and make the game very competitive. That's the only way we can go there and get three points."
Plymouth's Miron Muslic:
"We simply didn't show up today in a game that we knew was a big one for us.
"There are too many players who cannot deliver consistently the performances we need to be competitive.
"I know we played a fantastic game a couple of days ago, but the reality in the Championship is fighting for every inch on the pitch and we missed this today completely.
"The second goal, with all due respect, this player (Pedro) is one-and-a-half metres offside. I think at this level we should see this.
"Of course, I just went to him (the referee) after the game and wished him all the best and just said at this level, that's a big decision against us. It's a big game and I think we can do it better.
