Hull 2–3 Bristol City: Robins claim win in five-goal thriller at the MKM Stadium | OneFootball

Bristol City ended Hull City’s six-game unbeaten run this afternoon as The Robins picked up a vital 3-2 win in a thrilling encounter at the MKM Stadium.

Oli McBurnie opened the scoring before goals from Rob Atkinson and Ross McCrorie turned the game around, giving Bristol City a 2–1 lead heading into the break.

Emil Riis Jakobsen added another after half-time, and although a late strike from Kieran Dowell made for a nervy finish, City held on to claim all three points in the Championship.

As It Happened

The match kicked off at 3:01pm rather than the traditional 3:00pm to raise awareness for the EFL’s Every Minute Matters campaign in association with the British Heart Foundation.

Hull City started brightly, with Rob Dickie heading clear two early crosses in the opening stages. Bristol City’s first chance arrived after eight minutes when Emil Riis tested Ivor Pandur, though the Hull goalkeeper saved comfortably.

Winter signing Tomi Horvat was handed an immediate debut following his deadline-day move from Sturm Graz, but the Slovenian midfielder fired wide inside the opening 15 minutes.

Hull took the lead after 23 minutes as Oli McBurnie broke free inside the box and tucked past Radek Vitek for his 12th league goal of the season – the most of any Tigers player so far.

Scott Twine went in search of an immediate response, but the former Hull loanee saw his effort dip over the crossbar. Bristol City were level just after the half-hour mark when Rob Atkinson headed home from close range following a superb corner from Horvat, netting his third goal of the season.

Atkinson was one of four changes made by Gerhard Struber following the 5–0 home defeat to Derby County, alongside Horvat, Sam Morsy and Neto Borges.

Ryan Giles came close to restoring Hull’s lead but was denied by Vitek at his near post, while Horvat missed a golden chance to score on his debut soon after, unable to squeeze the ball past Pandur.

Bristol City regained the advantage shortly before half-time when Ross McCrorie fired a superb right-footed strike into the top corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. Vitek then preserved the lead on the stroke of the interval by tipping Joe Gelhardt’s free-kick over the bar.

Hull made two changes at the break, with Liam Miller replacing Giles and Lewis Koumas coming on for Kyle Joseph.

Bristol City picked up where they left off early in the second half as Emil Riis calmly slotted into the bottom corner to extend the visitors’ lead. Twine provided the assist – his seventh of the season and second of the afternoon.

Play was halted in the 52nd minute following an unusual pitch invasion, as a squirrel sprinted the length of the pitch and evaded both goalkeepers. After a three-minute delay, play resumed only to be stopped again as the squirrel reappeared. Eventually, a groundsman intervened, and attention returned to the football.

Hull made further changes, with Kieran Dowell and Matty Jacob replacing Jon Lundstram and John Egan. Struber responded with a double substitution of his own, bringing on Mark Sykes and Sinclair Armstrong for McCrorie and Riis.

Joe Gelhardt threatened again soon after, but Pandur produced another strong save to deny him. Hull introduced Toby Collyer with 15 minutes remaining, as the midfielder made his debut in place of fellow newcomer Paddy McNair.

The Tigers clawed their way back into the contest when Dowell pounced on a loose ball to fire home Hull’s second. Bristol City reacted with two further changes, as Joe Williams returned from injury to replace Morsy and Delano Burgzorg came on for an impressive Horvat.

Collyer entered the referee’s notebook for a late challenge on Williams, before Regan Slater was also booked moments later for a foul on Armstrong. Ten minutes of stoppage time were added, largely due to the squirrel incident.

Hull appealed strongly for a late penalty when George Tanner appeared to push McBurnie in the area, but play continued. Bristol City made a final change as deadline-day signing Noah Eile made his debut, replacing Tanner to see out the match.

A late foul by Sykes on Jacob handed Hull one final opportunity from a wide free-kick, but the hosts were unable to capitalise as Bristol City held on for a valuable victory.