Hull City 2-0 Blackburn Rovers: Revived Tigers end unbeaten run of Tony Mowbray's side
- Published
George Honeyman's early goal helped Hull to only their fourth home win of the season
A buoyant Hull City ended Blackburn Rovers' 10-match unbeaten run with three points to celebrate the announcement of the club's takeover by the Acun Medya Group.
George Honeyman found the back of the net after just eight minutes for the hosts to give them an early lead.
Ben Brereton Diaz had a penalty appeal turned down for the visitors after he was pushed over in the box, while Reda Khadra had a long-range shot saved.
Blackburn piled on the pressure after the break, but Tom Eaves' header doubled Hull's lead midway through the half to secure the victory.
The announcement of Hull's buy-out by the Turkish-based group came just 90 minutes before kick-off and the crowd inside the MKM Stadium was enlivened by the news.
The Tigers had not won in their previous five matches, a marked contrast to in-form Blackburn who have been on a rampage in the Championship, winning seven of their last eight and only conceding one goal in that run.
But with new owner Acun Ilicali in the stands, the Hull players were clearly keen to put on a show and they started the brighter side.
Turkish flags were waved by some Hull fans to celebrate the arrival of new owners for the club
Despite having the second-worst scoring record in the league, they soon found the net as Eaves did well to keep a long ball from the back in play, before Ryan Longman picked out Honeyman who tucked it past Thomas Kaminski for his fourth of the season.
Blackburn looked out of sorts and struggled to string passes together and when Brereton Diaz did break free to force a save out of Nathan Baxter, he was flagged offside.
Not long after he again got through on goal and was shoved to ground by Di'Shon Bernard. The referee, however, waved a penalty away, much to the dismay of Tony Mowbray and the striker.
A mistake by Hull keeper Baxter almost allowed Khadra to equalise, but Bernard spared his blushes by running back to block the shot.
Blackburn had a flurry of chances soon after the break, with Brereton Diaz and Darragh Lenihan both having shots saved, but Hull withstood the pressure and looked dangerous at the other end.
Longman missed a golden chance from a corner to put Hull 2-0 ahead, scuffing his shot from close range and sent it wide.
The midfielder then sent a high cross into the box, which Eaves headed home for the second goal, although Blackburn may feel a little aggrieved after Kaminski appeared to have been fouled by Sean McLaughlin.
Keane Lewis-Potter should have had their third minutes later, but he fired wide after Kaminski had brilliantly palmed Honeyman's initial effort on to the post.
Lewis-Potter also saw another two shots go narrowly wide in the closing 10 minutes as Hull comfortably wrapped up their fourth home win of the season to move themselves seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Hull City manager Grant McCann told BBC Radio Humberside:
"A very good win. After the disappointment of the last game against Stoke, I thought we raised our game so well tonight.
"We were playing against what are the in-form team in the division in Blackburn - unbelievable job Tony Mowbray's done this season - and we've kept them quiet all bar a 15, 20 minute spell at the beginning of the second half where they came strong.
"We had to stand up against them, we had to make a lot of blocks, we had to make sure we were defending our box. But I couldn't be more pleased for the players tonight.
"It felt nice, the stadium was bouncing it was rocking obviously with the news beforehand which has excited every fan I'm sure."
Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray:
"We fell a little bit short. We huffed and puffed but it was a difficult night.
"We had a lot of opportunities that, at the end of the day, we might have scored. Hull had their chances and worked hard and scored two goals.
"I don't want to be critical of this team. They've been amazing for two months and have worked their socks off.
"Football can kick you in the backside as it has done here, but we'll brush ourselves down and get ready for the next one."