League Two side Stevenage come into this FA Cup second round tie off the back of their second league win of the season, a 2-1 victory over Port Vale. Today’s opposition is a much sterner one though, with Hull City sitting top of the pile in the league above, League One.
The Tigers have won all of their last six matches in all competitions in their bid to get back to the Championship. They are certainly strong favourites for this tie. Leon Imber will take you through the action as it happens.
Starting line-ups
Kick-off
2 – Early chance and a wayward strike by Daniel Batty after being laid off by Tom Eaves. It was very far high and wide. Hull have made 10 changes from their win in the week, could this work in Stevenage’s favour?
6 – Scrappy start here, Alex Revell’s Stevenage are holding their own against the big man up front, Tom Eaves. I expect Hull will be eager to get plenty of balls into the box for the striker who stands at 6’3″. He is a brilliant striker at this level.
10 – The first real bit of pressure put on by the home side there. Good forward play by Ben Coker saw Boro win a corner which was uncomfortably dealt with. Coker showing his class, the left-back was rated amongst the best in League One before suffering a succession of injuries.
14 – Some dangerous play by the Tigers looking to pounce on the League Two strugglers. Stevenage are holding their shape pretty well and so Hull were subdued to taking a strike from range. It hit Luke Prosser and the home side came away with the ball. Well defended.
18 – Up the other end and Stevenage come close. Tyrone Marsh got a great ball in across the visitors’ goal but Danny Newton couldn’t get the all important touch. Hull then launched an attack and a close range strike from a tight angle by Eaves was saved well by Jamie Cumming.
23 – Stevenage are working tirelessly here and in honesty they look the most likely to open the scoring. They forced Hull once again to have a strike from range and Thomas Mayer stuck it in row z.
25 – A Lewie Coyle cross was met aerially by Martin Samuelsen but the header was weak and wide. He was very frustrated and so he should be, it was a poor effort. The Stevenage defenders are very concentrated centrally and so they just have to be careful that they don’t get caught out in the wide areas.
29 – Eaves has been caught offside a couple of times in the last few minutes. Hull boss Grant McCann won’t be happy with that as it has killed their attacks.
Embed from Getty Images30 – Good chance for Stevenage by the QPR loanee Aramide Oteh. He turned and sent a powerful drive at the away side’s goal, George Long spilled it awkwardly. I do not have any affiliation with either side but in the cup I do always favour the underdog, Stevenage doing well here.
33 – Newton hit a curling strike from the edge of the box and once again Long made a hash of the save. It was dealt with though, and I guess that is the most important thing. It has been a good spell of pressure by the home side, will we see them break the deadlock?
38 – I have to say, you would not know that 44 league places divide these two sides. Boro are playing some really great football but when on top you have to take your chances. Tom Pett nearly did but Coyle threw his body in the way.
Embed from Getty Images39 – Great save by Cumming. James Scott stuck from the edge of the area and the ball was heading for the far corner, but Cumming flew to keep it out, one for the cameras. Perhaps he could’ve dealt with it a little less theatrically but even still, it looked good.
44 – As the first half is drawing in, the ball is not really sticking at either end. Hull won a corner but didn’t threaten from it. Cumming has dealt with everything that has come at him this afternoon very well indeed. The Chelsea loanee looks a great prospect.
HALF TIME – Stevenage 0-0 Hull City
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45 – KICK-OFF
49 – Stevenage start the second half on the front foot. Coker whipped a powerful cross into what looked like the arm of Coyle in the box. The home side appealed but only won the corner and couldn’t make anything of it. They have come out for the second half with the exact same intensity as the first.
52 – GOAL – Tom Eaves (HUL)
Good, cool penalty. Arthur Iontton brought down Samuelsen pretty recklessly, it was a stonewall penalty. Cumming dived the right way and got a hand to the spot kick, but could not stop it from going in.
55 – Close! Very close. A brilliant ball was sent in and Pett could not get good contact. Poor luck and finishing is halting Stevenage at the moment. Very frustrating for Boro fans.
60 – Hull whipped a dangerous free kick at Cumming’s goal and the young keeper just touched it over. The break in play saw Hull’s first substitution of the match. Keane Lewis-Potter on for Mayer.
64 – Lewis-Potter’s first involvement was a free-kick hit straight at Cumming. It is hard to pinpoint what is going wrong for Stevenage in this half, but in fairness they’re playing much superior opposition in terms of league position and the intensity the League Two side were playing at in the first half is always going to be hard to sustain.
69 – Things are getting a bit naughty here. There has been probably four free kicks in the last couple of minutes. A mixture of Stevenage frustration and Hull’s professional fouls. Remeao Hutton and Regan Slater are in the referee’s book.
71 – Marsh goes off for Elliott List. Marsh had a good first half, worked very hard and looks an asset for Boro. Unfortunately, like most of his teammates, not much came off for him in the second half. List offers something a bit different though and against tired legs, his pace could be lethal.
76 – Oteh went down under challenge in need of treatment causing a break in play. Revell will be very careful with his striker as he is an important part of this Stevenage side.
78 – GOAL – ELLIOTT LIST (STE)
All level! Hull made a mess of their defending as Oteh and Charlie Carter were combining on the edge of the area. The ball fell perfectly to the substitute; he lashed a half-volley into the roof of the net and Long could do absolutely nothing about it. Stevenage are level, this could be a great last 10 minutes.
85 – Samuelsen should have scored. Coyle put a great ball into the area which was recycled so that he could stick in another great cross. The ball fell to Samuelsen at close range and he stuck his shot over the bar. Poor effort.
87 – Romain Vincelot comes on for Carter. At this stage of the game, the experience of Vincelot will definitely be useful for Stevenage. He is 35 years old and has great Football League pedigree.
90+1 – Hull are pushing, two corners in quick succession came to no effect. There’s seven minutes of added time to come before the tie is sent to the half-hour extra time, and penalties if needs be.
90+6 – There has been little action in this added time period in honesty. No real chances. It looks as if we will be going to extra time. Another 30 minutes coming up.
90 – Stevenage 1-1 Hull City
90 – KICK-OFF
95 – Boring start to this extra-time period. No chances have been created at all. The introduction of Vincelot seems to have really levelled the sides as there is not much being created on either side now.
100 – Great chance and shot taken by Newton. List cut off a ball that was coming out of the away side’s defence. A quick exchange with Newton saw the latter come away with the ball and hit one with great pace which was tipped over by Long. The best moment of extra time so far there.
HALF TIME ET – Stevenage 1-1 Hull City
105 – Kick-off
110 – The game has remained scrappy but if any side was to be on top, it would be the League Two outfit. They have had the share of possession in the extra 20 minutes so far and Revell will be happy with his team for that.
115 – As the BBC Humberside commentators so intricately analysed, “There’s not a lot of goalmouth stuff, it’s mostly scrappy midfield stuff.” It is true in that there has been no real action and it certainly hasn’t been the kind of eventful 30 minutes that was expected.
