Hull City 1-1 Bristol City: Nahki Wells earns the Robins a point with second-half equaliser at the MKM Stadium
Hull City 1-1 Bristol City: Nahki Wells earns the Robins a point with the second half equalizer to nullify Ozan Tufan’s opener
- Nahki Wells’ second-half equalizer earned Bristol City a point against Hull City
- Ozan Tufan had put the Tigers ahead early in the first half
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Nigel Pearson was in no mood to let his star pupil get the upper hand as Bristol City fought back for a deserved point.
Nahki Wells’ leveler in the second half brought Hull to a halt as the Tigers turned down a chance to briefly top the Championship.
Pearson coached Liam Rosenior at club and England Under-21 level and in their first meeting as manager, the 38-year-old gave his best against his mentor but failed to pull off what would have been a third successive win.
An early opener from Ozan Tufan was canceled out by Wells in the second half and it was the least the Robins deserved.
A two-goal margin of victory would have lifted Hull to the top, and they enjoyed an ideal start thanks to Tufan’s fourth-place finish in two home games this season.
Nakhi Wells equalized for Bristol City at the KCOM Stadium in the second half
Wells’ first league goal of the new season earned the Robins a point
Nigel Pearson avoided defeat against his former player Liam Rosenior
The side owed much to Manchester City striker Liam Delap on loan, who delivered an inviting cross from the right, which swept home an unmarked Tufan from ten yards out after 17 minutes.
Alfie Jones came close to adding a second when the defender’s header at the far post was converted from a Scott Twine free-kick onto an upright before being cleared to safety.
The visitors squandered two free openings midway through the first half, with Mark Sykes and Matty James unable to suppress shots from close range, before Jones cleared a George Tanner effort off the line after a scramble on goal.
Ozan Tufan put Hull ahead in the first half
Rosenior’s side missed the chance to top the championship list
Wells had the ball in the net in stoppage time, but the effort was disallowed for offside.
There was no such escape for Hull as the striker had the simple task of firing Sykes’ low cross into an empty net just after the hour mark.
Both sides had chances to win. Defender Zachary Vyner was awarded an overhead kick from a corner which was smothered on the line by Hull keeper Matt Ingram.
Hull substitute Aaron Connolly should have done better when he shot at Max O’Leary after going through, before the Bristol keeper tipped a Twine free-kick over the crossbar.