FA Cup

Match Analysis: Hull City 3-0 Sunderland

By Liam Apicella, Features Editor | 09 March 2014

Sports Mole looks back over the 3-0 win that saw Hull City book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at the expense of Sunderland.

Hull City scored three unanswered goals to book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at the expense of Sunderland at the KC Stadium this afternoon.

Sone Aluko saw a first-half penalty saved for the hosts, but goals after the restart from Curtis Davies, David Meyler and Matty Fryatt secured the victory for the home team.

Below, Sports Mole has looked back over the tie to determine if the result was a fair one, or whether Sunderland can feel hard done by.

Match statistics

Hull
Shots: 16
On target: 5
Possession: 50%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 7

Sunderland
Shots: 5
On target: 2
Possession: 50%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 21

Was the result fair?

There was very little to separate the two teams during the first half, but after the restart Hull were the dominant force. They were helped by some sloppy Sunderland defending, but the home team's positive outlook was eventually rewarded. The number of shots that they had compared to the Black Cats tells its own story.

Hull's performance

Aluko's failure from the spot summed up the opening 45 minutes from Hull's point of view, but they were a different team following a team talk from Steve Bruce. There was more urgency about their play and they started to carve out some opportunities, three of which they converted in quick succession. Bruce will also be pleased with what he saw from his team defensively because they were rarely troubled.

Sunderland's performance

After 45 minutes, Gus Poyet was probably content. His side were by no means great during the first half, but they were well in the tie and with Adam Johnson and Fabio Borini to come from the bench, there were reasons to be optimistic. As soon as that duo were introduced into the action, though, Sunderland shot themselves in the foot with some poor defending for all three goals. Poyet's men need to recover quickly now because the remainder of the campaign is all about Premier League survival.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Curtis Davies: Aside from his goal that set Hull on their way, Davies was an imposing figure at the heart of his team's defence. He was charged with the task of keeping Steven Fletcher at bay and the Sunderland striker was barely afforded a kick as Davies comfortably won their duel.

Biggest gaffe

Back in January, Cattermole made a huge mistake against Aston Villa when his attempted pass was cut out by Gabriel Agbonlahor to score the only goal of the game. Today, his error was arguably worse. With his team trailing 2-0, Cattermole inexplicably attempted to play the ball back to his goalkeeper, despite the fact that Fryatt was clearly blocking the ball's path. The result was a third goal for the Tigers.

Referee performance

It was a mixed afternoon for Craig Pawson, who got the major decision right when he awarded a penalty to Hull. However, having blown for a foul against Cattermole during the first half, he only booked the Sunderland midfielder after numerous protests from the Hull players. It's never good to see a referee being so easily swayed.

What next?

Hull: Next Saturday Bruce's men will play host to Manchester City in the Premier League at the KC Stadium.

Sunderland: The Black Cats are also at home, with fellow strugglers Crystal Palace making the trip to the Stadium of Light.