Steve Bruce will be thrilled with his side’s performance today, with Hull taking all three points against his former club. That puts the Tigers back into 10th, although they could stand to put a bit more distance between themselves and the bottom three. Meanwhile, it’s back to the danger zone for Sunderland, whose loss to Hull puts them just a point above the relegation spots – and it could get worse after Cardiff and Fulham both play.
Sunderland got off to a fantastic start when Wes Brown was sent off for a reckless challenge on Shane Long, catching the Hull City forward as he was headed toward goal. The referee flashed red, Brown’s third sending off of the season. The sending off forced Gus Poyet into a substitution, taking off attacker Fabio Borini and handing defender Santiago Vergini his debut…only for Vergini to grab Sunderland’s first shot of the match.
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It wasn’t long until Hull took the lead, however. Just after Vito Mannone tipped a shot from Jake Livermore over the bar, Long got on the end of another shot from the midfielder. His header from close range flew past Mannone to end up in the back of the net, giving Hull the edge at 1-0.
Sunderland must’ve thought they were back in it in the 55th minute, when a deflection sent Ki Sung-Yueng’s shot flying toward Steve Harper’s goal. The ball seemed destined for the back of the net when the Hull keeper managed to push it away.
The hosts were ruing the missed opportunity shortly after, when Hull doubled their lead. The Black Cats gave Maynor Figueroa plenty of space to shoot. His shot was deflected, but Nikica Jelavić was there to head on, getting the ball into the top right corner of the net.
LINEUPS
Sunderland: Mannone, Bardsley, Alonso, Bridcutt (Wickham 76), O’Shea, Brown, Ki (Gardner 70), Colback, Johnson, Borini (Vergini 11), Altidore
Hull City: Harper, Rosenior (Koren 45), Figueroa, Davies, Meyler, Huddlestone, Livermore, McShane, Jelavic (Aluko 78), Long (Brady 89), Elmohamady
Goals: Long 16′; Jelavić 62′
