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Hull logo
Premier League
Oct 4, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Crystal Palace logo

2-0

Diame (60'), Jelavic (89')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Match Analysis: Hull City 2-0 Crystal Palace

Sports Mole analyses the Premier League match between Hull City and Crystal Palace at the KC Stadium.

Hull City won their first Premier League match since the opening day of the season by claiming a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace.

They made the breakthrough on the hour mark when Mohamed Diame headed in from Andrew Robertson's cross.

Nikica Jelavic made the game safe with a minute left to play, as he raced onto Jake Livermore's through-ball and finished into the bottom corner.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the events that unfolded at the KC Stadium.

Match Statistics:

Hull:
Shots 15
On Target 2
Possession 59%
Corners 6
Fouls 6

Crystal Palace:
Shots 11
On Target 2
Possession 41%
Corners 7
Fouls 14

Was the result fair?

The hosts just about deserved to win today's match after a very even contest. In the first half both teams found it hard to string a number of passes together and failed to find the target. That trend continued until the 60th minute, when Diame headed Hull into the lead.

From that moment on Steve Bruce's side dominated and they made sure of the points with Jelavic's late second. Palace may feel that they could have snatched a draw, but they did not offer enough threat in the final third of the pitch.

Hull's performance

Hull only had two shots on target the entire afternoon, but both of those efforts ended up in the back of the net. Had their finishing been more clinical, then they could have scored two or three goals in the first half, with Jelavic and Abel Hernandez both spurning decent chances.

They won the midfield battle and had much more possession, with their ability to hold onto the ball crucial in the latter stages. The Tigers also caused plenty of problems from out wide, with Ahmed Elmohamady and Robertson delivering a number of telling crosses.

Crystal Palace's performance

Palace would have been disappointed at the manner in which they lost today, after successive league wins. They had scored five goals in those matches, but never looked like scoring against a solid Hull backline.

It took them until the 74th minute to hit the target and they only registered their second on Steve Harper's goal in stoppage time. An early injury to Scott Dann may have played its part, with a defensive reshuffle needed to cope with his loss.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Ahmed Elmohamady: The Egyptian may not have played a part in either of Hull's goals, but he was a constant threat on the right wing all afternoon. His team may well have taken the lead after just a minute if Jelavic had connected better with his inch-perfect cross. He laid on plenty of other goalscoring opportunities for his teammates and never neglected his defensive duties.

Biggest gaffe

There weren't any huge glaring errors over the course of the 90 minutes, but both teams were incredibly wasteful in front of goal. Out of the 26 attempts on goal from each side, only four found the target, which just isn't up to the standard of Premier League players. Jelavic was the most guilty with two headers that went wide in the first half, but he made amends with a composed finish to wrap up the points late on.

Referee's performance

Mike Dean will not have too many easier afternoons this season. He did not have to make any controversial calls and handed out just three bookings, all of which were for clumsy fouls rather than anything malicious.

What next?

Hull: The Tigers return to action after the international break with a league match away to Arsenal on October 18.

Crystal Palace: Palace are also in for a tough afternoon in their next match, as they host Chelsea on October 18.

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Mohamed Diame of Hull City celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Hull City and Crystal Palace at KC Stadium on October 4, 2014
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Live Commentary: Hull City 2-0 Crystal Palace - as it happened
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