Soccer

Hull City and West Ham share spoils in breathless encounter

Abel Hernandez and Mohamed Diame score debut goals for home side

Hull City’s Abel Hernandez heads the opening goal past West Ham’s James Tomkins at the KC Stadium. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters.
Hull City’s Abel Hernandez heads the opening goal past West Ham’s James Tomkins at the KC Stadium. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters.
Mon Sept 15 2014 - 22:27

Hull City 2 West Ham 2: Debut goals from Hull pair Abel Hernandez and Mohamed Diame were only good enough for a draw against West Ham as a Curtis Davies own goal ensured the spoils were shared in a breathless encounter at the KC Stadium.

The home side lost the lead twice, club record signing Hernandez getting the ball rolling with an impeccable first-half header and Diame restoring the advantage against the side he left on transfer deadline day.

In between Enner Valencia had marked his first league start with a blockbuster strike from 25 yards and the 2-2 draw was settled when Diafra Sakho’s modest shot evaded Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor, only for Davies to bundle the ball over his own line.

Valencia almost won it in added time when his header rebounded off Michael Dawson’s shoulder and rattled the crossbar, but that might have been harsh on the home side.

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Down payment

Hull can be particularly pleased with the contribution of Hernandez, who arrived from Italian side Palermo on transfer-deadline day, as he also clattered the woodwork in a display that looked a good down payment on the €11.9million sent Palermo’s way, while Diame was desperate to impress against his former employers.

West Ham, meanwhile, can rightly be enthused by the forward pairing of Diafra and Valencia, who showed real understanding on their first outing together.

It was, in many ways, a shame for the match to be settled by the messiest goal in four, and McGregor in particular will be aggrieved having made two fine saves in the match. HULL: McGregor, Elmohamady, Dawson, Davies, Robertson, Livermore, Huddlestone, Diame (Ramirez 79), Quinn (Brady 58), Jelavic, Hernandez (Ben Arfa 79). Subs Not Used: Rosenior, Chester, Meyler, Harper. Booked: Huddlestone, Robertson, Livermore. WEST HAM: Adrian, Demel (Jenkinson 76), Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell, Noble, Kouyate, Downing, Zarate (Song 62), Sakho (Amalfitano 87), Valencia. Subs Not Used: Vaz Te, Collins, Jaaskelainen, Cole. Booked: Reid. Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire).