Hull City and Cardiff City played out a 1-1 draw in the first game of the Premier League season between two of the promoted clubs.
Curtis Davies had stooped to head Hull into a half-time lead that was eradicated when Peter Whittingham smartly volleyed home to level the scores in the 59th minute.
Here, Sports Mole casts its eye over the 90 minutes at the KC Stadium.
Match statistics:
Hull:
Shots 18
On target 5
Possession 46%
Corners 7
Fouls 6
Cardiff:
Shots 10
On target 2
Possession 54%
Corners 9
Fouls 2
Was the result fair?
Perhaps. You could probably say that Hull actually deserved the win as they had more chances. One slack moment of defending at the back post from the home side was all it took for Cardiff to equalise.
Hull's performance
Steve Bruce's side did not take their chances very well all afternoon, with Danny Graham and Sone Aluko particularly inefficient. Despite their blunt frontline, Hull's midfield is a good one for a promoted side and the likes of Tom Huddlestone and Robert Koren will both create and score goals this year. At the back, Davies and James Chester are solid while debutant keeper Joe Lewis had a fine game.
Cardiff's performance
Malky Mackay will have pinpointed today's match as a possible away win but in all honesty his side were disappointing, especially after their last two results of a win and a draw against Manchester City and Everton respectively. Today Fraizer Campbell had a nothing game up front and the midfield trio of Gary Medel, Aron Gunnarsson and Kim Bo-Kyung were outplayed by the Tigers' central midfield. Gunnarsson, in particular, had chances to work Lewis but was wasteful when shooting.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Joe Lewis: A first-ever Premier League appearance for the keeper and he will now have Mackay thinking if he should start the next game as well. He looked nervous on a couple of occasions but overall was impressive between the sticks.
Biggest gaffe
Maybe this should go to both defences for soft goals but Graham gets it for a glaring first-half miss with keeper Lewis on the ground after parrying the ball straight to him.
Referee performance
Robert Madley had a fairly quiet game with the whistle and can probably only be criticised for booking Ben Turner when he and Aluko seemed to trip over one another.
What next?
Hull: Next up for the Tigers is a trip to Newcastle United in a week's time.
Cardiff: The Bluebirds, meanwhile, head back to the Welsh capital to welcome Tottenham Hotspur.
Pascal Lemesre
