Hull City 3-3 Leeds United: FLW report as Tigers stage dramatic comeback in six-goal thriller | OneFootball

FLW reports live from the MKM Stadium for this Yorkshire Derby

Hull City and Leeds United played out an enthralling Yorkshire Derby which ended 3-3 at the MKM Stadium.

Unquestionably, the day belonged to Hull's Abu Kamara, who started and ended the scoring as City staged a late comeback after initially surrendering a half-time lead against Daniel Farke's league leaders.

Leeds looked to have run away with three crucial points in the second half courtesy of goals from Ao Tanaka, Dan James and Joel Piroe before Hull's spirited performance saw them pick up a draw which sees them go level on points with Portsmouth ahead of their clash with Sunderland tomorrow afternoon.

Hull City and Leeds United play out six-goal thriller

Unsurprisingly, the home sections of the MKM Stadium generated a hostile atmosphere from the off, and after a share of possession from both sides, Kamara would silence his critics superbly after five minutes with his first goal for the club.

The City winger was sent one-on-one with Illan Meslier by Mason Burstow, and despite the onrushing Frenchman's best efforts to put him off, the summer recruit was able to lob him nonchalantly to send the Tigers fans into ecstasy.

Hull would then be grateful for the efforts of Sean McLoughlin minutes after, as his vital block on the line denied Joel Piroe an instant response, before Ivor Pandur was able to grasp a weak close-range effort from Brenden Aaronson.

Dan James then looked to catch the Croat off guard as a low cross spun goalwards, but Pandur was able to sniff out the danger.

The next chance for United would come on 20 minutes as Aaronson was able to pick out Max Wober in acres of space after neat build-up play. However, the left-back's fizzing effort was straight at Pandur.

Piroe was then left cursing his luck once more just four minutes later, as Manor Solomon was able to burst down the left before picking out the unmarked Dutchman in the centre of the box, before his chance was squirmed.

After withstanding a barrage of pressure from the leaders, Hull were presented with a golden opportunity to put daylight between themselves and Farke's men as Gustavo Puerta breezed past Jayden Bogle, and after Kamara neatly let the ball roll under himself, Regan Slater - to the bemusement of everyone inside the MKM - struck the post from yards out.

That miss didn't deter Selles' men in an attacking sense, as Matty Jacob then fired a fierce warning shot that just flew past Meslier's left-hand post, before City's rearguard were called upon once more to clear the danger as a low ball from Solomon evaded all in White.

After halting a potential attack from the hosts, Bogle then found himself free on the right flank, but he was the next Leeds man thwarted by Pandur as the break edged ever closer.

Joe Rothwell was next to try his luck, but the midfielder's effort was always rising amid strong pressure from Hull skipper, Alfie Jones.

Steven Alzate has been one of Hull's strongest performers in Selles' opening encounters, and the Colombian was able to weave his way through a plethora of Leeds bodies before seeing his shot fizz agonisingly wide as Hull went in at half-time 1-0 to the good.

However, Leeds would come out firing after a below-par first 45, and were instantly rewarded as Ao Tanaka fired in his first goal for the club.

Solomon found the Japanese midfielder in space on the edge of the box, and the Japanese midfielder sent a rasping curler past a helpless Pandur.

Matty Jacob was then involved at both ends - firstly sending a low drive straight into the hands of Meslier, before preventing James from completing a turnaround in double-quick time as the left-back nipped in front of the Welsh winger to divert it behind for a United corner.

Mason Burstow then looked to replicate his stunning goal against Swansea City two weeks ago, only this time the attempt lacked the required power and accuracy to have Meslier concerned.

The opening ten minutes of the second period continued in an end-to-end manner as Puerta then teed up Joao Pedro, whose effort was turned behind by Rodon.

Kamara then looked to double his tally for the afternoon and the season, but the right-winger was the latest in Black and Amber to see an attempt sent out for a corner.

Just before the 60-minute mark, Wober sent a delightful ball in from the left which evaded the luckless Piroe before Jacob was unable to prevent James from making a telling touch.

However, the visitors would complete the turnaround on 62 minutes through the winger.

Solomon, who had caused problems on the left side all game, was able to spin his way past Coyle, and Hull were unable to deal with the Spurs loanee's initial low cross, which allowed Bogle to pick out James from yards out, and the 27-year-old stabbed home his seventh of the season

Leeds smelt blood straight from kick-off once more, although Pandur stood up to the task, denying Piroe with his feet.

Hull's first chance after falling behind came with 20 minutes to go, as Slater saw his low drive fall into Kamara's path, but the 21-year-old's effort was straight at the keeper.

However, the leaders would put daylight between themselves and their Yorkshire rivals just two minutes later as Piroe eventually got his just rewards.

The forward couldn't have believed his luck as a defensive calamity from Pandur and the Hull defence presented him with the opportunity to fire into the bottom right-hand corner on 72 minutes.

However, Hull would be offered hope of a potential comeback on 80 minutes.

Substitute Xavier Simons' free-kick was met by McLoughlin, and after the Irish centre-back's looping header was fumbled by Meslier, Joao Pedro was on hand to tap home his fifth goal for the Tigers, giving the home support plenty of encouragement in the closing stages.

Pandur then looked to make amends for his earlier error as his flying header outside the box prevented Leeds from adding further gloss to their second-half performance.

The hosts had the wind in their sails as a result, and Joe Rothwell was lucky to see a low ball from Kamara spin just over the crossbar.

However, it was definitely the City 44's day as, from the resulting corner, Leeds were unable to clear their lines, and Kamara was able to smash a fizzing drive into the bottom left-hand corner, sparking scenes of pandemonium among Tigers fans.

Despite the late leveller, Hull supporters were still made to sweat as Sam Byram tried his luck from distance, before Anthony Backhouse called time on a sensational encounter, which certainly does more for Hull in their battle to stay above the relegation zone.

Player Ratings

Hull City

Ivor Pandur - 5

Lewie Coyle - 5.5

Alfie Jones - 6.5

Sean McLoughlin - 6.5

Matty Jacob - 6.5

Regan Slater - 6

Steven Alzate - 7 (Simons 68" - 6.5)

Gustavo Puerta - 7 (Burns 93" - N/A)

Abu Kamara - 8.5 (Sellars-Fleming 93" - N/A)

Mason Burstow - 7 (Vaughan 68" - 6)

Joao Pedro - 7

Leeds United

Illan Meslier - 5

Jayden Bogle - 7

Joe Rodon - 7

Ethan Ampadu - 7.5

Max Wober - 7.5 (Byram 66" - 6)

Ao Tanaka - 8

Joe Rothwell - 6.5 (Guilavogui 91" - N/A)

Dan James - 7

Brenden Aaronson - 6.5

Manor Solomon - 8

Joel Piroe - 7.5 (Joseph 91" - N/A)

"It feels like a perfect final point for what happened in the last couple of days, and I'm very happy for the team," Selles began.

"I think the team is competitive, and that competitiveness and my experience against teams at the top - like Leeds today, is that, if you are to get something from the game, you need to go and take it."

"I am very happy because it shows we can compete against anybody," Selles added. "I think we started the game showing we were going to compete and press them when we needed to, they are a fluid team in possession, and then threaten them when we had the ball."

Selles then went on to describe the mixture of emotions felt on the touchline and from his chargers as the encounter ebbed and flowed between either side.

"The action in minute five (Kamara's goal) showed what we wanted to do. I think we continued being ourselves, the game was open, and both teams had chances," the Spaniard explained.

"I think the goal coming from a great strike (Tanaka's equaliser) put us on the back foot, and when we were 3-1 down we had to play one more action and get the feeling of the game again."

"I had the feeling from the players that we could get something from the game, and we did it."

"I think it's always important to get points. When you cannot get three, at least get a point, and the way we got the point was also very important."

"I think we have been competitive in all the games, sometimes better than others. But, today showed that we can compete, but we have to be at our maximum best to compete against anybody," Selles continued.

"We want to make the step forward and get points to try and build a distance (away from the relegation zone)."

The Hull boss then mentioned the impact of the two-goal hero, Kamara, after the fallout concerning the winger following City's defeat to Middlesbrough on New Year's Day, which included a joint press-conference from the duo on Friday afternoon.

"I was confident that he's an honest person, and he's giving absolutely everything," the head coach stated.

"I know because of his body language, sometimes people think he's the type of player who won't make a tackle and get the crowd up, but he's an honest player and person."

"I knew he was able to make that kind of performance and that his teammates wanted to be there for him," Selles concluded.

Daniel Farke's assessment as Leeds United drop two points late on

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Farke was left frustrated by the manner in which his side threw away a 3-1 advantage with 10 minutes left on the clock, but believes they are capable of reaching higher performance levels

"Disappointment is probably the right word," he began. "In the first half, we were not sharp enough, so it's an example of how we allow ourselves to be two percent less on it, then it's difficult to win points in this league."

"I think it was the case in both boxes," the United boss explained. "We had so many good situations, but didn't finish them off in the first half."

"I don't think we have conceded a cheaper goal during our season than when we conceded (the first) and when we allowed them into counter-attacks," he added. "We were not sharp enough in both boxes in the first half."

"Second half, I have to say, great reaction," Farke stated. "We executed exactly what we spoke about at half-time in the perfect manner."

"We were in total control, scored three goals and had chances to score a fourth, fifth or sixth. Then it's difficult to accept how we conceded the two late goals without them having (clear) chances earlier."

"If you concede three goals in an away game, it's difficult to win the game," he said.

"After being in control of such a terrific performance for long periods in the second half, creating chances and scoring three goals, having chances for more, to concede two goals and drive away with just one point is a heartbreaking and disappointing feeling," the German concluded.

Attendance

The attendance for this afternoon's all-Yorkshire clash was a sell-out figure of 24,473.

This included a packed-out away end of United supporters who travelled across the M62.