Richie Foran came back into the side after a three-game ban and partnered youngster Marc Nixon in attack, who had the first two chances of the afternoon. Stuart Green was back in the home team's starting line-up following his suspension and he had three early corner kick opportunities, only the last of which gave United's defence any trouble. Former United keeper Matty Glennon took the gloves for the Tigers. Mark Summerbell was first into the ref's notebook after just 12 minutes for a late challenge in midfield. Green got in the action on 20 minutes when he fired in a left-foot shot from just outside the box but Keen made a solid save. Controversy followed almost immediately as Keen appeared to catch the ball but Gary Alexander headed it right out of his hands and into the net. Keen made strenuous protests but the goal was allowed to stand. Nixon could have levelled within 2 minutes when Summerbell passed and the young striker stretched to stab wide of the upright. As Hull began to dominate, Roddy Collins made the familiar substitution of Michael Jack for Mick Galloway. Galloway walked straight down the tunnel clearly unhappy at the decision. United tried to revive and launched a few sporadic attacks with Brendan McGill breaking and firing over the top. Near half-time Darren Kelly joined Foran and Summerbell in the book for a foul on Green. It was a very disappointing half for the Cumbrians, who had been second-best for much of the time. Things couldn't have got off to a much worse start in the second half as Alexander rose unchallenged to meet Ryan Williams' cross to make it 2-0 in the 49th minute. It was just what the struggling Cumbrians didn't want and the home team came forward with renewed confidence. Williams shot through the Carlisle defence following a mistake by Foran and drew out Keen who managed to sneak the ball away from the Hull man as he threatened to extend the lead. Lawrie Dudfield replaced Phil Jeavons for City. McGill nipped in a cross that Jon Slaven reached but Glennon saved. Green produced a killer through pass on 72 minutes with a 50-yard ball to Alexander who ran through without challenge to side foot past Keen and make it three-nil, completing his hat-trick in the process. He was promptly removed from the action to a standing ovation. A corner kick, again taken by Green was headed home by Dudfield after 79 minutes, again from an unmarked position. United's defending was leaving a lot to be desired. Green continued to tear the Cumbrians apart with a series of through balls, bypassing the Carlisle central defensive pairing of Kelly and Whitehead. Only the linesman's flag and an alert Keen kept the score down. Al's verdict: It's hard to find anything positive to say about that performance. Hull were light years ahead in terms of passing and movement and Green destroyed us. The first half goal was a bit controversial but after that, it was simply a relief the score was kept down to 4-0. The worst thrashing handed out to us for a long time. At least Hull City lived up to their pre-season billing of championship favourites, leaving nobody in any doubt just how far behind United have fallen. When you see the home side bringing on a £250,000 striker (Dudfield) as a sub and we've got raw teenagers on the bench, it's clear we've got a lot of catching up to do. |
