Hull’s Sky Bet Championship play-off hopes suffered a blow with a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Swansea at the MKM Stadium.
The Tigers had gone into the game in the top six, but it was the visitors who eased their relegation fears by claiming all three points.
Swansea went ahead after 10 minutes as Liam Cullen got on the end of a corner from the left to steer a low shot into the bottom-left corner and the home side struggled to create clear scoring chances in response.
Josh Tymon created the first opening for the visitors after seven minutes but his driven cross from the left was too quick for any of his team-mates to connect with in the Hull box.
With 10 minutes gone, Swansea forced the first corner which Tymon swung in low from the left and Cullen ran in unmarked to steer a left-foot shot inside the near post.
Hull tried to respond, and Anass Zaroury swung in a cross from the left but it was too far in front of Regan Slater’s run to threaten the Swansea goal.
The Swans should have had a second after 22 minutes when the ball came in from the right, but Przemyslaw Placheta headed back across the area when he should have aimed for an open goal.
Hull were getting punished for mistakes and only a tackle in his own area by Slater halted another attack before Ronald fired over following a free-kick.
Ozan Turfan headed straight at Carl Rushworth when the ball dropped to him in the area with Hull’s best chance on the half-hour.
A surging run by Jaden Philogene was halted by Ben Cabango’s foul but the fact the Tigers wasted the free-kick was indicative of a lacklustre first-half display and they trailed at the break.
A raking pass down the middle from Alfie Jones found Turfan just offside as he ran towards the Swansea goal in the opening minutes of the second half.
Billy Sharp replaced Lewie Coyle after 54 minutes and nearly made an instant impact as he reached Turfan’s through ball before Rushworth, but Nathan Wood got back to clear his prodded shot just short of goal.
Cullen nearly had his second when Hull failed to clear a cross but steered his shot just wide of a post.
Tymon fired in a cross from the left which Ryan Allsop beat away at his near post for a corner, but Swansea could not repeat their first-half goal as Jamie Paterson fired his volley off target.
Philogene forced Rushworth to save with his knees at the near post as the home side looked for a late equaliser.
Allsop beat away a rising shot from Tymon and then gathered the loose ball as Swansea pushed for a second goal, but they had already done enough to claim the points.
Leicester's Fatawu ruled out for rest of season with ACL injury
Leicester City manager Steve Cooper confirmed Abdul Fatawu will miss the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) while playing for Ghana against Angola during the international break.
Fatawu has featured in all 11 of Leicester's Premier League matches so far this season and has registered two assists.
No Leicester player has attempted (61) or completed (29) more dribbles than him, while his 30 crosses is also a team-high in the top-flight this season.
"It's not good, it's a serious injury," said Cooper ahead of their match against Chelsea on Saturday.
"It's a real blow, first and foremost for him, being a young player and having an injury as serious as what an ACL is.
"Albeit, it can be quite common in sport, and in particular football, but it's still a serious injury.
"For it to happen at a young age is a blow for him and a blow for us as well.
"He's obviously a big talent and a young player, as exciting as he can be at his age, with lots to learn.
"It's only a pause, and we will make sure, as difficult as it is at the moment for him, that he comes back being a stronger player and person, which, with the mentality and character that he has, I think will be the case."
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feels 'surreal', says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
Arsenal qualifying for Champions League quarter-finals feel surreal, says Slegers
Renee Slegers says it feels "surreal" that Arsenal have secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with two games to spare.
The Gunners will finish at least second in Group C after Lina Hurtig's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Juventus on Thursday.
What looked to be a frustrating encounter was turned around by Slegers' substitutions, and after missing a glorious chance, Hurtig was eventually the difference at the Emirates.
Arsenal created 3.69 expected goals (xG) from their nine shots, getting three on target, compared to just 0.5 for Juventus, who tested Daphne van Domselaar the same amount of times.
Slegers was impressed by her side's resilience as they pushed to come away with all three points.
"It's surreal to be honest," Slegers said post-match. "I never felt we would get into this situation. We have done really well.
"I was part of Jonas [Eidevall's] staff and there was so much that was built during his time. I don't want to separate that. There is so much we are still building on. It's surreal in so many ways but we are very happy.
"I'm just happy for the team to win. Obviously, we have amazing depth in the squad, and we know anyone can do it for us - whether it's starting players or finishing players.
"It's the visualisation of how much everyone contributes in the team. I think that's what it means for us."
Slegers took over as interim manager following Jonas Eidevall's departure last month and has gone unbeaten in her first seven games, winning six and drawing one.
They have won each of their last five in all competitions, and have not conceded a goal in their previous four matches.
"It was just a very impressive block of the team," Slegers said. "We conceded only one goal during this whole block, so defensively very solid.
"The players have been stepping up big time, they've been owning this; we tried to relay it back to them all the time, so giving them the ownership.
"I'm just very happy with how the block has been, different challenges along the way, so all games have asked something different from us. We've responded to that really well, sticking to our identity but also playing the game that's ahead of us."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
