Hull City missed out on the chance to move into the top half of the Premier League as they were held to a competitive but ultimately uninspiring 0-0 draw with Stoke City. The two well-matched sides had chances to win a tight contest at the KC Stadium but both were perhaps content to emerge with another point banked as goalkeepers Allan McGregor and Asmir Begovic shone.
Ahmed Elmohamady and Yannick Sagbo were both denied by Begovic as the Tigers did all the running for the first hour, but Steve Bruce's men were eventually grateful to McGregor for his late heroics to earn a point. The Scotland international twice denied Peter Crouch with excellent saves, while Ryan Shawcross came closest of all when striking the crossbar 15 minutes from time. City's 19th point of the season keeps them 12th in the table but now six clear of the bottom three as the halfway mark of the campaign creeps closer.
Unchanged for the first time since September, City continued the promising form shown in a 1-1 draw at Swansea for much of the opening period. The only concern was that their territorial dominance went without reward.
The midfield battle was won convincingly by the Tigers and set the stage for Elmohamady to make regular gains down the right flank. The Egyptian almost opened the scoring after 12 minutes when expertly controlling and unleashing a dipping volley bound for the top corner. Only a smart save from Stoke goalkeeper Begovic kept Elmohamady at bay. The wing-back then turned provider for Sagbo. Getting in behind Marc Muniesa, who appealed hopefully for a foul, Elmohamady set up Sagbo to shoot, but again Begovic was on hand to save low at his near post.
All of the chances were coming for City and Curtis Davies will have been disappointed not to hit the target from Tom Huddlestone's sumptuous free-kick into the penalty area. The advanced defender had done the hard part when timing his run to perfection, but the glanced contact brought a header wide.
Sagbo enjoyed another chance when the improved Danny Graham flicked on Maynor Figueroa's floated ball. A volley from the edge of the box had the venom but not the accuracy.
Although the first half offered little of the entertainment required to capture the imagination of a national television audience, the best of the play undeniably belonged to the home side. Only when Marko Arnautovic played a dangerous ball across the six yard box late in the half could Stoke claim to have come close to troubling McGregor. That it went unconverted said much about the Potters' attacking threat.
The second half brought an increased sense of adventure from both sides. At one end Begovic denied Elmohamady once again with a scrambling save to keep out a back-post header, while the Potters made a mess of a golden counter attack. Jake Livermore's powerfully struck pass was intended to go all the way back to McGregor with City attacking, but Figueroa's interception set the visitors away. Arnautovic's indecision with Oussama Assaidi in support allowed Elmohamady time to cover and clear.
Stoke's threat increased significantly as the game wore on and they were first to have the ball in the net when Peter Crouch's header was saved by McGregor and turned in by Stephen Ireland. Only a correct offside call from the assistant referee chalked off a Stoke goal.
McGregor was excellent again soon after when pushing wide Crouch's crisp first time drive from Ireland's centre and from the resultant corner it was Shawcross who inherited a look of exasperation when his header came back off the crossbar. It was the last meaningful act of a poor spectacle where neither side fully deserved to make the giant leap up to 10th.Hull City: Allan McGregor, Ahmed Elmohamady, James Chester, Alex Bruce (Robbie Brady 66), Curtis Davies, Maynor Figueroa, David Meyler (Liam Rosenior 78) Tom Huddlestone, Jake Livermore, Danny Graham (George Boyd 82), Yannick Sagbo. Subs not used: Steve Harper, Paul McShane, Abdoulaye Faye, Robert Koren.Stoke City: Asmir Begovic, Marc Wilson, Marc Muniesa (Erik Pieters 66), Ryan Shawcross, Geoff Cameron, Glenn Whelan (Wilson Palacios 77), Oussama Assaidi, Stephen Ireland, Steven N'Zonzi, Marko Arnautovic (Charlie Adam 89), Peter Crouch. Subs: Thomas Sorensen, Andy Wilkinson, Jermaine Pennant, Kenwyne Jones.Attendance: 23,324 (1,004 away).
