Late finishes from Shaun Maloney and Abel Hernandez earned Hull City their second straight victory of the new Premier League campaign after Mike Phelan's side beat Swansea City 2-0 at the Liberty Stadium this afternoon.
The victory represents the first time that the Tigers have managed to win their first two games in a top-flight season, despite having just 13 senior players available for selection before kickoff in Wales.
Swansea started the game in a lively fashion and they almost went ahead through midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, who appeared likely to carry over his form from Euro 2016 as he saw his volley tipped onto the crossbar by Hull stopper Eldin Jakupovic.
Francesco Guidolin's possessional blueprint was apparent throughout the first half as the Swans dominated possession and they might have taken a lead when Jordi Amat almost caught Jakupovic off-guard with a shot from distance.
Hull surrendered the ball for long periods in the first 45 minutes, but they threatened on the counter and should have made the hosts pay when Adama Diomande broke away before stumbling at the vital moment.
Swansea continued to mount pressure with growing possessional statistics and their dominance nearly resulted in a goal, although Fernando Llorente was unable to convert with his head following a promising run from Modou Barrow.
The first half's moment of controversy came just before the whistle when Amat seemed to have taken down Robert Snodgrass in the area, only for referee Stuart Attwell to wave play on much to the chagrin of the Tigers.
Proceedings continued in much the same fashion after the interval, but Hull should have taken the lead once more on the counter, when full-back Andrew Robertson picked out Snodgrass in the area, where he was thwarted by Stephen Kingsley's retreating tackle.
It looked as though the game might be headed towards a goalless draw until Maloney was introduced, leaving the club's first substitute of the new Premier League season to steal the show late on, as he broke free in the area to get a vital touch on a Curtis Davies knock-down to make it 1-0.
The visitors capped off some memorable counter-attacking play to add a second goal, this time as Hernandez broke clear to collect a through-ball from Maloney before sealing all three points with a calm finish beyond Lukasz Fabianski.
Christopher Dodd
