Coventry 0-1 Hull: Substitute Millar Seals Second Straight Premier League Win
Hull’s remarkable start to the Premier League season continued as substitute Liam Millar came off the bench to secure a 1-0 win at Coventry.
Millar finished off a swift counter-attack with eight minutes remaining to give Sergej Jakirovic’s side back-to-back wins to open the campaign, following last weekend’s victory over Manchester United. Last season’s Championship play-off winners edged out the side that went up as champions in a game that marked Coventry’s first-ever top-flight meeting with Hull, and the first Premier League fixture at the CBS Arena.
Coventry controlled large spells of the match but couldn’t turn possession into meaningful chances, and paid the price late on. Their best opportunity fell almost by chance, with Taiwo Awoniyi drawing a good stop from Konstantinos Tzolakis after the ball cannoned into him at the back post.
At the other end, Nobel Mendy — among the scorers last weekend — went close with a fierce half-volley in the opening stages. Coventry were the dominant side early on, keeping Hull penned back for long periods, though clear openings proved hard to come by. It wasn’t until the 22nd minute that they had their first real sight of goal, but Awoniyi couldn’t get enough on Caleb Yirenkyi’s clipped cross to trouble the keeper.
Hull had a penalty shout of their own rejected shortly after, when Elliot Stroud went down under a challenge from Bobby Thomas, but referee Josh Smith saw little in it and played on. Coventry came closest to breaking the deadlock seven minutes before half-time, when Loum Tchaouna’s cross took a deflection off Mendy and struck Awoniyi at the back post, forcing Tzolakis into a smart save down to his right — a let-off for Hull, with the striker close to getting a telling touch.
Mendy almost struck again early in the second half with another powerful effort from distance, this time forcing Carl Rushworth into a two-handed save from 30 yards. The game opened up as Coventry pushed for a breakthrough, but gaps began to appear at the back as a result.
There was an early warning when Oli McBurnie played Millar through, only for the winger to cut inside and drag his shot wide. Coventry failed to heed it, and just five minutes later Mohamed Belloumi dispossessed Tatsuhiro Sakamoto to release Millar again — this time he made no mistake, slotting home his first Premier League goal to win it.
Coventry almost salvaged a point in stoppage time when Jay Dasilva rose to meet a header, but it was their only shot on target of the second half, and Hull held on to make it two wins from two.
