Hull City held Brentford to a 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium, with Oliver McBurnie’s penalty giving the home side a first-half lead before Dango Ouattara brought the visitors level after the interval. In a busy Premier League fixture on Sunday 25 October, both sides had enough late chances to take all three points, but neither found the final touch.
McBurnie puts Hull in front from the spot
Brentford began sharply and created two headed opportunities inside the opening minute. Igor Thiago nodded wide from Michael Kayode’s delivery before Sepp van den Berg forced a save with another header. Aaron Hickey later tested the Hull goalkeeper from distance after being picked out by Ouattara.
Hull settled after that early spell. Tim Iroegbunam headed wide from a Belloumi corner, while John Egan missed from close range following another set piece. Belloumi also sent a free-kick over the bar.
The breakthrough arrived in the 24th minute. Iroegbunam was brought down in the Brentford penalty area by Hickey, who was booked for the challenge. McBurnie took responsibility and drove his right-footed spot-kick into the right side of the net.
- 24 minutes: Oliver McBurnie scored from the penalty spot to make it 1-0.
- 23 minutes: Aaron Hickey received a yellow card after conceding the penalty on Tim Iroegbunam.
- Hull had earlier threatened through corners, with Egan heading over from close range.
- Brentford saw Thiago and Kevin Schade caught offside during the opening half.
Brentford carried much of the pressure before the break, winning a succession of corners and seeing efforts from Ouattara and Schade blocked. But Hull took their advantage into half-time, despite Belloumi being flagged offside when Konstantinos Tzolakis attempted to release him late in the half.
Ouattara turns Brentford pressure into an equaliser
The visitors resumed with purpose. Van den Berg headed straight at goal from Kayode’s cross, and Brentford continued to work the wide areas through Kayode, Hickey and Ouattara.
Hull had their own opening when Belloumi’s shot from a tight angle drifted narrowly wide, but Brentford’s changes helped shift the rhythm. Mikkel Damsgaard and Jaidon Anthony entered on 62 minutes in place of Hickey and Schade, and the equaliser followed a minute later.
Anthony crossed for Damsgaard, whose header missed the target, but Brentford remained on the front foot. Igor Thiago then supplied Ouattara, who finished from close range into the top-right corner to restore parity in the 63rd minute.
- 62 minutes: Mikkel Damsgaard replaced Aaron Hickey and Jaidon Anthony came on for Kevin Schade.
- 63 minutes: Dango Ouattara made it 1-1, converting Igor Thiago’s assist.
- 65 minutes: Hull introduced Mohamed-Ali Cho for Ryan Giles and Brooke Norton-Cuffy for Lewie Coyle.
- 72 minutes: Hidemasa Morita replaced Tim Iroegbunam for Hull.
A frantic finish without a winner
The final quarter had the feel of a fixture neither side was willing to merely see out. Hull created a promising passage in the 71st minute: Cho had a low effort saved after Elliot Stroud’s pass, and Regan Slater saw another attempt blocked. Slater had earlier fired over after McBurnie set him up.
Brentford responded with a strong spell of their own. Anthony headed a Ouattara cross on target, Ouattara had a shot blocked and then headed straight at goal from Mathias Jensen’s delivery. Jensen and Damsgaard were central to much of Brentford’s late work, while Callum Wilson was introduced alongside El Hadji Malick Diouf in the 78th minute.
Hull made two further attacking changes, with Joe Gelhardt replacing Belloumi and Robinio Vaz taking McBurnie’s place in the 86th minute. Gelhardt twice came close in the closing stages: first he fired narrowly wide from Cho’s pass, then sent another left-footed shot beyond the far side after Norton-Cuffy’s assist.
At the other end, Wilson had an effort blocked after Damsgaard found him in the box, leading to a Brentford corner in the 90th minute. That proved the last notable opening before the final whistle, with the points shared after three minutes of added time.
Late changes and key moments
- Brentford introduced El Hadji Malick Diouf for Keane Lewis-Potter and Callum Wilson for Ouattara in the 78th minute.
- Hull sent on Joe Gelhardt for Mohamed Belloumi and Robinio Vaz for Oliver McBurnie in the 86th minute.
- Mohamed Belloumi, Jaidon Anthony and Joe Gelhardt all missed chances that might have settled the contest.
- The match finished Hull City 1-1 Brentford after McBurnie’s first-half penalty and Ouattara’s second-half reply.
