Hull City brought an end to Birmingham City’s 29-match home league unbeaten run, claiming a 3-2 victory in what was a frenetic Championship encounter at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park on Saturday afternoon.
An own goal from Jack Robinson – who was later sent off after two yellow cards in the space of mere seconds – followed by goals from Regan Slater and Joe Gelhardt secured Hull’s first away win of the campaign.
Jay Stansfield put Blues on level terms in the first half and slotted home a consolation penalty deep in stoppage time but the game was all but over by then.
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Oli McBurnie – who ended up joining Hull despite interest from those upstairs at St. Andrew’s early in the summer window – arrived in B9 top of the seasonal charts for goal contributions in the second tier and found his way through Blues’ back-line inside 11 minutes.
The 29-year-old slipped through fellow forward Kyle Joseph, who saw a shot saved by Blues stopper James Beadle before the ball diverted off Robinson into the back of the net.
Blues threatened an equaliser almost immediately and would have found one if not for an excellent from Charlie Hughes to thwart Patrick Roberts’ goal-bound curler.
Roberts was a bright spark for Blues, who despite being a goal down looked the more likely to score, and created their leveller in the 27th minute. The on-loan Sunderland man carved open Hull’s defence with a neat through ball to Paik Seung-ho, whose low drive was parried by Tigers goalkeeper Ivan Pandur but the pouncing Jay Stansfield was there to smash home.
15 minutes later, an unpunished challenge from Joseph on Roberts left Stansfield, Marc Leonard and – most notably – Chris Davies furious and kickstarted a massive altercation between the two sets of players and staff by the dugouts. At the end of the lengthy stoppage, Stansfield and Gelhardt were booked, along with Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic and Blues assistant coach Tom Huddlestone.
Hull left the coming-together stronger out of the two sides and found themselves with what was, in the grand scheme of things, an undeserved advantage just before the break. Lewie Coyle’s right-wing cross was met by Slater who forcefully headed home in front of a raging Tilton.
Regan Slater headed Hull back into the lead on the stroke of half-time | Image: @HullCity
Half-time: Birmingham City 1-2 Hull City
The hosts started the second half with intent and Keshi Anderson should have done more than firing straight at Pandur after squirming his way past two defenders in the box.
Blues boss Davies would have been encouraged by what he saw from his side in the second half before Robinson shot the entire team in the foot just before the hour. The ex-Sheffield United defender, famous for his lack of discipline, thought Blues should’ve had a corner after Leonard’s effort deflected wide and his reaction earned him two bookings in quick succession and, ultimately, his second sending-off in four games.
Knowing his side needed – at least – a goal, Davies opted against shoring up his defence. He instead chose to introduce Tommy Doyle and Kyogo Furuhashi, and ask Tomoki Iwata – a natural midfielder who has already been trialled at right-back to accommodate for Blues’ growing injury list – to partner Christoph Klarer at centre-back.
Beadle, during his second appearance since joining on a season-long loan from Brighton in the summer, made an excellent double save to deny Gelhardt and Hull substitute Liam Millar with 15 minutes to play.
Kyogo evaded two visiting defenders to present himself with yet another magnificent opportunity, only to toe-poke wide of the target.
Chances arrived at both ends of the pitch in the final 10 minutes, and former Blues loanee Cody Drameh smacked the crossbar for Hull from a tight angle after being set up by the dangerous Gelhardt.
It was only a matter of time before Hull punished Blues on the counter and Gelhardt was the one to do it after being found by Millar in the 93rd minute.
Stansfield converted a penalty three minutes later but the damage was already done.
Beadle even came up for a corner – and headed over the crossbar – in the dying seconds of the game but it was a case of too little, too late for Blues, who fell to their first league defeat on home soil since April 2024.
James Beadle last-gasp effort captured from the sold-out St. Andrew’s crowd | Image: @BluesFocus
The visiting supporters could be heard singing “Mauled by the Tigers!” in Blues’ direction after the full-time whistle and, to be fair to them, they summed it up pretty well.
Here’s how I rated the Blues players…
James Beadle 7.5
Beadle couldn’t have done anything to prevent any of the goals and kept Blues in the game with a fine double save late on. He picked up a booking for a foul on Gelhardt but it was a challenge he had to make.
Tomoki Iwata 7
Iwata did well at right-back in the first half and showed a lot of resilience when Davies shifted him to centre-back after Robinson’s dismissal.
Christoph Klarer 7
It isn’t easy to find good things to say about a defender when their team concedes three goals but I’m about to do it. Klarer couldn’t have done much more and is being let down time and again by those around him unfortunately.
Jack Robinson 3.5
No one who possesses the experience of Robinson should be receiving two yellow cards for dissent the way he did. A tough day started on the back foot with an own goal and it just went from bad to worse from there. It seems like a long way back now with Phil Neumann banging on his door.
Alex Cochrane 5
Cochrane produced one long-range effort that forced Pandur into a superb save but he allowed Gelhardt far too much space in the second half. Not one of the highest marks I’ve ever given the ex-Hearts left-back.
Marc Leonard 6
Leonard was relatively neat and tidy in the first half and delivered one good free-kick but Doyle was always going to replace him. The Scot needs to do more if he wants a place in the XI more regularly.
Paik Seung-ho 6.5
Many wondered whether Paik would be given a rest after arriving late from international duty with South Korea but the midfielder played well against Hull.
Patrick Roberts 8*
An unusually high mark given the defeat but Roberts certainly merited it. He split Hull’s defence to create the opener and was Blues’ most creative outlet. The right-winger played intelligently throughout.
Keshi Anderson 6.5
Anderson impressed on his first league start since Blues’ dramatic victory at Blackburn in August. The 30-year-old combined well with Iwata and Roberts down the right before his influenced lessened after half-time, ultimately leading to his withdrawal after the hour.
Demarai Gray 7
Gray’s skill is clear to see and he saw one fierce shot saved by Pandur in the second half. The Birmingham-born left-winger showed great resilience when asked to fill in at right-back late on.
Jay Stansfield 8
Similar to Roberts, Stansfield’s rating might look unusual considering the defeat but he deserved it. The 22-year-old added two goals to his tally and worked tirelessly in search of more throughout in difficult circumstances.
Jay Stansfield celebrates his first goal | Image: @BCFC
SUBS:
Tommy Doyle (for Leonard, 63’) 6.5
The on-loan Wolves man tried too many ambitious shots from range considering Blues needed a goal but Doyle’s quality is clear to see.
Kyogo Furuhashi (for Anderson, 63’) 5
The 23-cap Japan international created another huge opportunity for himself to break his goal duck but again missed the target. Patience for Kyogo is running low amongst the expectant Blues fans.
Lewis Koumas (for Paik, 84’) N/A
Lyndon Dykes (for Cochrane, 84’) N/A
How did you rate Blues’ players against Hull? Let us know on our X account: @BluesFocus!
Featured Image: @BCFC