Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.

Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.

However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.

With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.

The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.

Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End. 

Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough

Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.

His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.

Hull kept alive their faint chances of reaching the Sky Bet Championship play-offs with a 3-0 win over QPR, who remain in deep relegation trouble.

Ozan Tufan’s wonderful solo effort from 20 yards and Fabio Carvalho’s cool one-on-one finish put the Tigers in control at the break.

Jaden Philogene then put the seal on a dominating home performance with a sweet half-volley after 52 minutes.

Hull, who were claiming just an eighth home victory of the season, are six points adrift of sixth-place Norwich – but with a game in hand.

QPR also have work to do, but for far differing reasons as they are now two points clear of the relegation zone.

With just one away league defeat since December 29, it was unsurprising that Marti Cifuentes’ men were quickly into the stride against a Hull side who have this season been hamstrung by their form at the MKM Stadium.

The visitors’ early vigour was, however, soon curtained when Tufan scored after eight minutes.

The Turkey international was firstly given too much space by Jimmy Dunne near the left-hand corner of the penalty area.

Dunne also seemed complacent to the danger when Tufan cut inside before striking fiercely with his right boot.

The ball screwed over the head of Asmir Begovic, battered the underside of the crossbar and landed into the top-right corner of the net.

QPR looked shell-shocked and never recovered.

And they might have gone further behind soon afterwards had Philogene and Carvalho not been guilty of poor decision-making in good areas.

Carvalho, though, impressively made amends after 27 minutes with a lovely second goal.

Tufan again played a key role with a cute first-time pass around the corner that outfoxed centre-backs Steve Cook and Jake Clarke-Salter.

Carvalho controlled beautifully and never looked like missing from the edge of the penalty box once Begovic came rushing too far off his line.

QPR brought on Reggie Cannon and Paul Smyth at the break, and the double substitution nearly yielded immediate dividends when the latter somehow headed wide Illias Chair’s cross from close range.

But Rangers’ slim hopes of getting back into the game sailed into the River Humber when Philogene scored another excellent goal once Tufan’s free-kick was partially headed clear by Sam Field.

The former Aston Villa winger, 10 yards out toward the left of box, showed laudable composure to cushion a textbook half-volley into the right of the goal.

QPR might have added a consolation soon afterwards when Jacob Graves cleared off Hull’s line after Chair waltzed past two defends and goalkeeper Ryan Allsop.

Yet that was as good as it got for Rangers, who will need to improve markedly to avoid a nervous end to the season.

Hull, who nearly scored a fourth when substitute Liam Delap’s 76th-minute lob was headed off the line by Cannon, could also be set for a dramatic finish to the campaign on this evidence.

Hull boss Liam Rosenior and Middlesbrough counterpart Michael Carrick are both adamant a top-six finish in the Championship remains within reach despite denting each other’s hopes.

An entertaining 2-2 draw between the sides at the MKM Stadium on Wednesday left them both six points adrift of the play-off spots, with Middlesbrough in ninth, one place ahead of Hull.

But with Hull having five matches of the campaign to play and sixth-placed Norwich and Boro both having four, Rosenior was refusing to draw a line through his side’s season.

“We need to take it to the wire and we have an opportunity to take it to the last day,” Rosenior said. “As we know anything can happen on the last day. Norwich have got tough games, we’ve got tough games.”

Rosenior, though, rued Hull’s inability to take three points despite outplaying for Middlesbrough for large spells after falling behind to Emmanuel Latte Lath’s sixth goal in his last eight matches.

Hull got on top and were well worth a leveller through Jaden Philogene’s cross-cum-shot while Seny Dieng then played Lewis O’Brien into trouble, which allowed Jean Michael Seri to steal in and put the Tigers deservedly ahead before half-time.

While Hull had opportunities to extend their lead, Boro had the final say as a swift break was finished by Finn Azaz, whose 71st-minute strike deflected off Alfie Jones before nestling in the net.

Rosenior added: “It’s the same story, I’m really proud of 99.9 per cent of the stuff we do but we just don’t take advantage and then we shoot ourselves in the foot.

“It’s what could end up – I’m not saying has done – costing us something that is so attainable with this group. That’s the painful thing at the moment for the lads and everyone involved in the club.

“We can see the potential is there but potential is nothing, you have to turn it into results. If we consistently play at that level for the next five games, we’ll come really close.

“We have to be perfect. I don’t mean by winning five games, I mean by managing moments. We have an outstanding football team at this level but we consistently haven’t taken advantage of the moments.”

Despite Middlesbrough walking away with just one point, Carrick was incredulous when asked if he and his side are still optimistic of finishing sixth or higher.

He said: “You’re kidding, aren’t you? Of course we are. One hundred per cent. It’s pretty obvious we’ve got to win the next game. Nothing’s changed from before this game.

“Norwich took a point (in a 2-2 draw against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday), us and Hull have taken a point. There are games to play.

“Anything can happen in this league so there’s no way we’re giving up on anything just yet.”

v’s deflected second-half goal helped Middlesbrough claim a 2-2 draw at Hull but a point apiece does little to boost either side’s Sky Bet Championship play-off hopes.

Emmanuel Latte Lath followed up a brace in Boro’s 2-0 win over Swansea on Saturday with an early goal at the MKM Stadium but Jaden Philogene’s cross-cum-shot drew Hull level just before the half hour.

Middlesbrough goalkeeper Seny Dieng played Lewis O’Brien into trouble which allowed Jean Michael Seri to put the Tigers deservedly in the lead ahead of half-time but Azaz had the final say, albeit after his strike took a crucial final touch off Alfie Jones before nestling in the goal.

Both teams sit six points adrift of sixth-placed Norwich with Middlesbrough in ninth, one place ahead of Hull, who have a game in hand over their two rivals.

This was a missed opportunity for both sides, even if Middlesbrough extended their unbeaten run to eight matches and it was the visitors who stormed out of the traps after kick-off was delayed by a quarter of an hour due to heavy traffic in the area.

Hull’s defenders were caught on their heels and paid their price as Latte Lath bagged his sixth goal in his last eight matches.

Having taken six minutes to score in the reverse fixture, which Boro lost 2-1 in December, Latte Lath needed just four this time after stealing in behind a high line and steering beyond Ryan Allsop from an acute angle.

Hull gradually warmed to their task and were unfortunate Abdus Omur slipped at the vital moment in front of goal as his miskick sailed wide while Jacob Greaves’ header was clawed away by Dieng as Middlesbrough were hemmed into their own half.

Hull’s persistence was rewarded as the influential Philogene delivered a teasing ball that seemed to elude Ozan Tufan at the back post before sailing into the net.

While Hull awarded the 29th-minute goal to a celebrating Tufan, it was officially given to Philogene.

Luke Ayling headed off his line following Omur’s chip as Hull continued to pour forward but they were given a helping hand four minutes before half-time.

Dieng’s attempt to play out from the back backfired spectacularly as Seri nudged O’Brien off the ball on the edge of his own area before lashing into the top corner.

Despite being outplayed for most of the first half, Middlesbrough might have drawn level at the start of the second as Jonny Howson’s thunderous effort was palmed by Allsop into the path of Latte Lath, who got into a tangle and could not slot in the rebound.

Howson at the other end made a desperate intervention to block Seri’s goal-bound effort while Regan Slater drilled across the face of goal and wide as Hull looked to give themselves some breathing room.

Their inability to do so came back to haunt them as they were hit on the break in the 71st minute.

Azaz exchanged passes with Isaiah Jones before bearing down on goal and his shot ricocheted off Jones and over Allsop as Middlesbrough drew level.

Omur might have nicked victory for Hull in the closing stages after springing the offside trap and going clean through but he was denied by the legs of Dieng.

Enzo Maresca saluted the character of his side after Leicester battled back to earn a 2-2 at Hull.

Jamie Vardy scored a brace as the Sky Bet Championship league leaders twice came from behind to earn a valuable point at the MKM Stadium.

Maresca – whose side are now three points clear of second-placed Leeds – said: “It was a tough game, as we expected.

“They are a very good team and their four players up front are very quick and very technical.

“The game for me was a good game. They pressed man-to-man and we had to do that, too.

“Sometimes when you can’t win, you take a point by trying and trying – and we did that.

“We conceded a goal but the reaction was there. We conceded a second one and the reaction was there.

“We could have done many things better, but I think the character was there and that was important.”

As has been a hallmark of their season, Leicester had to dig in to get something from a fine game of football.

Fabio Carvalho opened the scoring on16 minutes after Wout Faes carelessly lost possession on the edge of the penalty box.

Carvalho did well to maintain composure and atone for his earlier penalty miss after Stephy Mavididi ended Regan Slater’s power-packed run inside the area.

Vardy equalised from the spot after 31 minutes when Jean Michael Seri was controversially adjudged to have upended Abdul Fatawu.

A finely balanced second half swung the way of the hosts on 61 minutes after Annas Zaroury’s lovely left-footed hit arrowed into the bottom-right corner.

But Hull’s celebrations lasted just two minutes as Vardy added a second when he sharply controlled Fatawu’s perfect pass before flighting the ball into the roof of the net.

Maresca said: “I was very happy with the reaction. Sometimes it’s important you see the reaction, and we saw that.

“You have to adapt. We made some mistakes but, overall, we continued to try until the end.

“What they (his players) have done is not normal and when we had nine points more (at the top of the league) it was not normal.

“We are very happy where we are and we still have nine games to go.”

On Vardy, Maresca added: “He has the most important thing in football, which is to score goals.

“We have to manage him because of his age. For sure, he’s going to help us until the end.”

Hull are unbeaten in seven but they have drawn their last three league games and have been replaced by Norwich in the top six.

Head coach Liam Rosenior said: “That performance is going to stand us in good stead.

“I slept well last night because I know what this team are about. We did it our way against an outstanding team.

“There were a lot pleasing aspects. We let ourselves down with momentary lapses of concentration, but our players are young.

“We make naïve decisions at time but in our naivety there’s a fearlessness and bravery to our game.

“We need to peak now. The players are showing me that they are learning and improving.

“If they can keep doing that we will get to where we want to be.”

Rosenior added: “We have gone up against an outstanding team at this level so I’m delighted.

“If you look how the team and the club has grown in the last 18 months, I’m so excited and proud to be part of his process.

“We’re all in this together and that was an outstanding afternoon for the football club.

“It’s a points accumulation, but these players are showing me they are improving all the time.

“We should have won the game from our performance – I just need to nudge them two or three more per cent and then we’ll get there.”

Leicester are three points clear of Leeds at the top of the Sky Bet Championship after Jamie Vardy’s double earned his side a 2-2 draw at play-off chasing Hull.

Enzo Maresca’s men had to work hard against the Tigers and fell behind when Fabio Carvalho, who had earlier missed from the penalty spot, scored after 16 minutes.

But Leicester showed plenty of resolve and equalised through Vardy’s contentious penalty after 31 minutes.

Hull again nudged in front when Annas Zaroury let fly from the edge of the penalty box on 61 minutes, but Vardy scored a trademark second just two minutes later to secure the Foxes an important point.

Having ended a three-match losing run with victory at Sunderland on Tuesday, Leicester supporters might have expected their side to kick on at the MKM Stadium.

But they were surprisingly placid in the first half and should have conceded after just six minutes.

Regan Slater’s lung-busting run from deep caught the visitors unawares, with Stephy Mavididi nudging the Hull midfielder off his stride inside the penalty area.

Referee Samuel Barrott awarded a penalty, but Carvalho’s spot-kick was complacent, and Mats Hermansen impressively stood his ground.

Hull’s promising start was rewarded soon afterwards, though, as Carvalho atoned for his penalty miss with a fine goal.

Wout Faes conceded possession in an awful area, though Hamza Choudhury did the Leicester defender few favours with a rash pass.

The Liverpool loan signing had lots of work to do, but Carvalho was direct and brave before striking low under Hermansen, who perhaps went to ground too early.

Leicester needed a spark, which arrived after 20 minutes.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s strike from the edge of the box was not especially pleasing on the eye, but it squirmed from the reach of Ryan Allsop and on to the base of the left post.

Dewsbury-Hall’s attempt served notice of Leicester’s growing influence upon the game, which was finally balanced at the break after Vardy scored from the spot.

Jean Michael Seri was adjudged by Barrott to have fouled Abdul Fatawu, who went over rather too easily.

Vardy made no mistake with a neat penalty into the right corner.

Leicester improved thereafter, but they were far from at their best and again fell behind when Zaroury expertly powered home with his left foot from the edge of the box.

But with celebrating home fans still returning to their seats, Vardy scored again.

Fatawu’s smart pass from the right cut bisected Hull centre-backs Jacob Greaves and Alfie Jones to find an onrushing Vardy in his favourite position.

After having put Allsop on his backside with his first touch, the former England international artfully switched onto his right before smashing the ball into an unguarded net.

Neutrals anticipating a grandstand finale were left disappointed as both sides cancelled one another out during a tactical final half-hour in which Leicester finished strongly but did not do enough to win an absorbing game of football.

Franklin Pele and Ligi Sao were both sent off as Hull FC’s hopes of kicking off the new Betfred Super League season with a win over their derby rivals Hull KR unravelled in spectacular fashion at the MKM Stadium.

New boy Niall Evalds led from the front with two tries as Rovers cruised to a 22-0 win which was helped by their opponents’ indiscipline after debutant Pele was red-carded for a needless swing at debutant Eliot Minchella on the stroke of half-time.

With the game long gone Tony Smith’s men suffered the indignity of finishing the game with 11 players after Sao was also red-carded for retaliation after kicking out following foul play by Matt Parcell.

If it was not as emphatic as the 40-0 thrashing inflicted by Rovers last April, it strongly suggested two sides with contrasting seasons in store, with Willie Peters’ new recruits easily outshining their largely anonymous FC counterparts.

Smith’s men might have feared it was not going to be their night when Liam Sutcliffe withdrew after the warm-up due to illness, then Joe Cator was also forced to limp off early.

But for all their ill luck, the black-and-whites were emphatically also the architects of their own demise, as a series of errors and rushes of blood to the head left them 14 points adrift at the interval.

Evalds needed seven minutes to mark his Rovers debut with the opener as he took a pass from Tom Opacic on the right and stepped inside to put the first points of the season on the board.

Mikey Lewis sent Kelepi Tanginoa through a gap for the second in a move that began with an error from Morgan Smith who needlessly kicked into touch on the full.

Hull responded with an overdue spell of pressure, Jack Walker’s high kick forcing an error from Rovers full-back Peta Hiku, who was perhaps the only visiting new boy not to excel.

But errors from Jayden Okunbor and Jack Ashworth sapped most of the momentum the home side could build, and the Hull defence stood off again as the superb Lewis skipped through again to take Rovers’ lead to 12.

Hiku nailed his first and only conversion of the night before the first period ended on a desperate note for the hosts, as Pele followed up a tackle on Minchella with a needless swing towards his opponent on the ground, prompting a mass confrontation and a red card.

Cam Scott spurned a chance to reduce the deficit for Hull early in the second half after another spill from Hiku, before Rovers camped on the hosts’ try-line and after Jai Whitbread and Ryan Hall were both held up, Parcell found the inevitable gap on the last to nail Rovers’ fourth try.

Tension boiled over in the last 10 minutes as Parcell was sin-binned for elbowing Sao in the ruck, only for Sao to see red after retaliating with a kick to the head.

Evalds completed the scoring in the final minute as he raced over on the right flank to the delight of the estimated 8,000 Rovers fans in the 20,014 opening night crowd.

Hull boss Liam Rosenior admitted he felt nervous before the 1-0 Sky Bet Championship win over Millwall.

There was a feelgood factor around the club after a successful transfer window saw the likes of Fabio Carvalho, Ryan Giles and Anass Zaroury arrive at the MKM Stadium.

Rosenior was keen to keep momentum going and the Tigers did just that, securing a second consecutive victory courtesy of fit-again winger Jaden Philogene’s fifth-minute strike.

“It was a really pleasing day because I was fearful before the game that there had been so much positive news surrounding the club,” Rosenior told the club’s official website.

“As a manager, sometimes, that makes you a little bit nervous; I didn’t want us to be complacent and all of the noise we needed to filter out.

“Some of our football in the first half was excellent and it’s great to be able to say we can improve after winning a game of football.”

Rosenior handed Giles and Zaroury their debuts following their loan moves from Luton and Burnley respectively.

“In terms of the first-half performance, other than really having teeth and finishing off Millwall, there were some really good signs – for Anass, his first game, Ryan Giles, his debut, and Jaden’s first game back in two months,” he added.

“I wanted the second goal because I felt our energy levels would tail off naturally.

“Overall, delighted to win the game and a lot of positive signs in the way we want to play – the understanding, the connection between the players.”

Millwall improved after the break and Zian Flemming and Tom Bradshaw almost nicked a point.

Lions boss Joe Edwards bemoaned his side’s first-half display.

Edwards told the club’s official website: “Very much a game of two halves in terms of our performance. We didn’t play well in the first half.

“They get a dream start after four minutes, albeit a sloppy error from us around the box, but someone hits an absolute rocket against the bar and it rebounds to their player and he finishes really well.

“They really grew in confidence and they are a team that loves to drift around the pitch and play good possession.

“They are a good footballing team. That is why they are up that end of the division, and we respect that.

“But we had our moments to take the sting out the game, as we have done in other games in recent weeks, but we didn’t do it and we were a bit sloppy.

“Second half we were a lot sharper in what we were doing, we were cleaner on the ball.

“In that final 20 minutes we were a lot clearer of what our idea was supposed to be, using our wing-back and switching play, and we had more about us.”

Darren Moore defended Huddersfield’s cautious approach after Hull left it late to win 1-0 at the MKM Stadium.

Town rarely threatened inside the final third and were seemingly content to leave East Yorkshire with a point.

But their gameplan backfired in stoppage time when Liam Delap scored the winning goal two minutes in.

Moore, whose side are one place above the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone, said: “There’s always an emotional element to a result and I can understand that.

“You have to strike the balance right and we are working towards that.

“But as a group we were working extremely hard to correct those wrongs to make them right.

“We created two or three half-opportunities on counter-attacks.

“When the chances came our way, could we have used the ball more effectively and get bodies up the pitch?

“I thought we did that really well; it was just that the opportunities that we created just didn’t come our way.”

Huddersfield at least defensively improved upon their last two away games, in which they conceded a total of eight goals.

They also had Hull at arm’s length for most of the game – even though the hosts dominated possession.

The Tigers might have lacked attacking nous, but the mood inside the stadium changed once Delap struck the crossbar after 81 minutes.

Hull then scored the goal their efforts deserved when Delap’s low strike hit the inside of the right post and squirmed into the net.

Moore, whose side have won just once in 10 games, said: “It’s a tough one to swallow in terms of going that long into the game (without conceding).

“In terms of the performance, it was another team performance in the right direction.

“As a group we are looking at the positives – you have to look at the overall performance.

“We have to accept what’s happened and move forward.

“The gameplan was to nullify them in spaces we know they can hit you on the break – I thought we did that on the balance of the game.

“I thought apart from a couple of incidents, we limited to them to long-range efforts.”

Counterpart Liam Rosenior was adamant Hull were good value for the victory – even if it was achieved so late in the game.

He said: “I’m really proud because sometimes teams can lose faith in what they are doing.

“This method of (possession-based) play ties the opposition up – I think we had about 80 per cent of the ball – and, normally, chances to come towards the end of the game.

‘I think from minute one to minute 100 we showed our quality and were dominant all game.

“My team, with his group of players, have not lost two games in a row. They are learning as they go which is exciting for me.

“There wasn’t anyone in the stadium who would argue we didn’t deserve three points.”

Hull struggled at home earlier in the season, but they have now won back-to-back games at the MKM Stadium and are only outside the top six on goal difference.

Rosenior added: “Liam got his just rewards – he probably could have scored three or four.

“I’m very proud of the group, but I just want to see more goals. The intent is there – I think everyone can see that.

“But when you have that much control you can be a little bit more risky and make positive changes.

“Fair play to Darren. His side were so resilient and difficult to break down and, in time, he will get the results the club needs.

“For us to break them down in the manner that we did gives us a lot of confidence.”