Stoke City vs Hull City. Sky Bet Championship.
Bet365 StadiumAttendance21,142.
Report and free match highlights as Aaron Connolly took his personal league tally to five with the game's opener; Adama Traore doubled the lead; Lynden Gooch put through his own net to compound Stoke's woe; Andre Vidigal grabbed a consolation; Hull rise to fourth while Stoke are 20th
Monday 25 September 2023 10:29, UK
Hull extended their unbeaten run to seven league games with a comfortable 3-1 victory at Stoke.
The Tigers leapt back into the play-off places thanks, in the main, to a quickfire double after the half-hour mark.
Aaron Connolly opened the scoring with his fifth goal of the season following good work from former Potters loanee Jaden Philogene, before the shell-shocked hosts fell further behind a matter of seconds after the restart when Adama Traore notched his first goal since April.
Regan Slater's shot led to a Lynden Gooch own goal in the second half as Hull coasted towards a third successive Championship away victory.
Stoke scored a late consolation through the returning Andre Vidigal, but he could not prevent their winless run stretching to five league games.
The tone for the home side was set inside 13 minutes as Tyrese Campbell limped off to add to the Potters' injury woes.
Despite their early setback, the first clear chance fell to Stoke but Daniel Johnson dragged his effort wide.
At the opposite end, Philogene - who spent six months in the Potteries in 2022 - overpowered Ben Wilmot to tee up Connolly for a simple finish as Hull took the lead.
The bright Connolly was instrumental as the Tigers raced to double their advantage almost immediately after the restart.
The Republic of Ireland forward advanced dangerously from goalkeeper Ryan Allsop's long pass and his blocked strike popped up invitingly for Traore, who drilled a first-time effort on the swivel into the corner.
Vidigal, who had missed a month through injury, tried to rouse a comeback with his free-kick forcing a stop from Allsop.
Yet Stoke nearly fell further behind in a calamitous first half when a downward Connolly header was cleared off the line by an alert Johnson.
Sead Haksabanovic, like Vidigal minutes earlier, came close to halving the hosts' arrears from a free-kick but again Allsop was on hand to save.
It was a similar story after the interval with the Hull stopper twice thwarting Wesley, with the second a miraculous instinct save from point-blank range.
The visitors took advantage and soon added a third with a long-range Slater strike deflecting off Gooch and looping over a helpless Mark Travers.
The Potters' shining light Vidigal then offered his side a lifeline as he marked his return with a fifth goal of the season, but it was too little, too late.
Stoke's Alex Neil:
"I think the best team won. It's the poorest we've been tactically since I've been here.
"You look at the game today and think either our set-up wasn't good enough or we didn't commit to it or a combination of both.
"We lacked belief in doing it today and when you lack belief it looks a bit of a dog's dinner.
"We showed a lack of confidence - which is the first time I've seen that from them this season - so that was disappointing.
"I don't ever make any qualms with what fans want to do or if they want to boo or voice their frustration.
"They're here to support their team and see their team win; if they don't win, particularly in modern football, it's either one extreme or the other."
Hull's Liam Rosenior:
"I'm really happy. It always feels good when you win away from home and more pleasing than just the win was the performance.
"Everyone was excellent; we showed energy and confidence in the way that we played in possession and we were difficult to break down.
"The signs are really good, but the only stat that matters to me is where we finish at the end of the season.
"It's brilliant to get the win but it has to be towards something so I won't get carried away.
"We're in a good place; we don't need to focus on the results because they come as a product of our performances and they've been consistent this season."
