Hull City 2-2 Ipswich result, stats and report

Hull City had 61 percent of the ball. They had 15 shots to Ipswich's nine. They created three big chances to Ipswich's one. They lost two of those big chances. And they ended the afternoon with a point instead of three. That tells you everything you need to know about this Hull City side right now.

The Basics Were Not Executed

Hull had enough to win this match. Comfortably, if we're being honest. Ipswich arrived with one win in their last three Premier League matches and spent large portions of this game chasing shadows. Hull's passing accuracy sat at 87 percent. They had 116 attacks to Ipswich's 58. The gap in territory and control was obvious to anyone watching.

The thing is, control means nothing if you do not put the game to bed. Hull missed two big chances. Two. In a match they were supposed to be winning. That is not bad luck. That is a lack of execution. That is unacceptable at this level.

How the Goals Fell

Florentino put Ipswich ahead in the 22nd minute, finishing with his right foot after being found by Abdoul Ouattara. Hull, for all their possession, had to come from behind. That sets the tone for a difficult afternoon regardless of how much of the ball you have.

Hull eventually responded through Tim Iroegbunam on 58 minutes, a right-foot finish assisted by Oli McBurnie. Good goal. Hull looking the more likely side. Then Oli McBurnie himself got on the scoresheet directly, converting a free kick in the 68th minute to give Hull the lead for the first time. The MKM was behind them. Three points was right there for the taking.

Then Hull let it slip. Julio Enciso came off the bench and levelled for Ipswich in the 74th minute with a left-foot finish, assisted by Azor Matusiwa who had himself only just come on. The substitutes swung the game. Hull had made three changes at the 70-minute mark and within four minutes they had conceded. That is a failure of game management. End of.

Hull's Form Tells a Familiar Story

Look at Hull's last five Premier League matches before today and you see three draws and two defeats. Zero wins. Zero clean sheets. They have conceded eight goals in that sample. Today was another draw and another clean sheet surrendered. The pattern is not a coincidence. This is a team that is competitive but cannot close out matches. They draw or they lose. They do not win.

In those five matches Hull drew with Brentford 1-1, lost to Fulham 0-1, drew with Everton 2-2, lost to Newcastle 1-2, and drew with Chelsea 2-2. Today makes it four draws in six. That is a mentality issue as much as anything else. When it gets to the sharp end of a match, Hull cannot find that extra gear. The desire to see it out is not there consistently enough.

Ipswich's Resilience Cannot Be Ignored

To be fair to Ipswich, and I say that without a trace of sarcasm this time, they showed something here. They conceded the lead and came back. They had the discipline to stay compact, win their duels when it mattered, and take their chances when they arrived. Ipswich won 57 duels in this match to Hull's 45. They attempted 20 tackles to Hull's eight. For a side with only 39 percent possession, they competed hard.

Ipswich had conceded in four of their last five Premier League matches coming into this one. Their clean sheet record was poor. It remained poor today. But they took a point from a ground where Hull had the majority of everything, and in a results business, a point on the road is a point on the road.

The Cards and the Discipline

Both sides picked up three yellow cards apiece. Exequiel Palacios was booked for Ipswich in the 28th minute. Elliot Stroud followed for Hull at 52 minutes, before being substituted off at 60 minutes, which tells you how that situation was being managed. Matt Crooks was then carded in the same minute he came on for Hull, which is some going. Julio Enciso, who scored Hull's equaliser, was booked at 81 minutes. Semi Ajayi picked one up for Hull in the 88th minute. Issa Diop was carded deep into stoppage time. Neither side was managing the game cleanly. Six yellows between them. Messy.

The Substitutes Changed the Match

Hull made three changes at 70 minutes, bringing on Jack Clarke, Daizen Maeda, and Azor Matusiwa. Within four minutes, Matusiwa had assisted Enciso's equaliser. That is the kind of thing that happens when you make multiple changes at once and the shape gets disrupted before the new players have found their feet. It is a basic problem. You protect your lead first. You bring on energy and freshness, not chaos.

Ipswich also used their bench well. Matt Crooks came on at half time for John Egan and scored the second goal on 68 minutes. Mohamed-Ali Cho came on at 60 minutes in place of the booked Stroud. Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Hidemasa Morita came on at 77 minutes. Ipswich managed their changes with more purpose in the second half and it showed in the result.

What This Means

Hull City are not a bad side. That much is clear from watching them for 90 minutes. They move the ball, they create, they press with intent. But creating is not enough. You have to finish. You have to see games out. You have to have the standards and the accountability to hold a lead when you earn one. Right now, Hull do not have that. Their last five Premier League matches produced no wins and no clean sheets. Today was the same. Until that changes, they will keep dropping points they should be collecting.

Ipswich take a draw they will accept. Hull are left wondering what might have been. They have only themselves to blame.