Matt Crooks delivered the decisive moment as high-flying Hull City pulled off a classic smash-and-grab 1-0 victory at Portsmouth, despite registering only two shots all game. He pounced on a second-half defensive mix-up to score his fourth goal of the season and secure a fifth consecutive away win for the Tigers, matching a club record that had stood since 1966.
Portsmouth controlled long stretches of the contest, particularly before the interval, when they enjoyed 69 per cent of the possession and took all 14 shots after Hull's early opening. Zak Swanson, Terry Devlin, Colby Bishop and others all went close, only for visiting goalkeeper Ivor Pandur to repeatedly intervene. The second half followed a similar pattern until Crooks punished a double error from Australian Adrian Segecic, and Hull then survived a scare from John Egan's header over his own keeper and a Marlon Pack effort onto the roof of the net.
Hull's Lightning Start Before Portsmouth Seize Control
Hull had hinted at their threat inside the first minute, on a ground where they had confirmed their Championship status on the final day of last season. After a quick turnover just 44 seconds in, Lewis Koumas burst down the left and drilled a low ball into the box for Joe Gelhardt, whose shot was straight at Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid before Oli McBurnie nodded the rebound into the net, only to be denied by the offside flag.