Stoke City and Hull City met in the Round of 64 at the Bet365 Stadium on 25 August. The match ended 1:1 after extra time, with Hull progressing on penalties. By then, both sides had already shown what they could do in their recent fixtures.
Róbert Boženík gave Stoke the lead in the thirty-ninth minute. Kieran Dowell equalised for Hull just before the break in the forty-fifth. And here's the thing — those two goals came from open play, not set pieces, which is how you want them.
The second half brought a steady stream of changes. Ethan Galbraith and Jens Hjertø-Dahl came on in the forty-sixth and fifty-ninth. Boženík was replaced in the sixty-third, while Ben Johnson and Million Manhoef arrived together in the sixty-fourth. Abdülkadir Ömür and Matt Targett followed in the seventy-seventh.
The penalty shootout told a different story. S. Thomas and B. Lawal scored for Stoke before George Hirst missed in the fourth round. Hull converted all five of their attempts — H. Morita, P. McNair, E. Stroud, L. Millar and D. Soumare. And M. Belloumi sealed it.
The statistics paint a picture of a game where chances went begging. Stoke managed only four shots on target against twelve for Hull, yet both sides created two big chances each. Expected goals sat at 0.9 for the hosts and 1.9 for the visitors. To be fair, the numbers didn't lie about who pressed higher.
Hull advance to the next round after edging through on penalties. The result leaves Stoke with a point and nothing more. These games often decide on moments, and this one came down to composure from the spot.
