Newcastle's Strong Response Floors Hull in Thrilling Match

Newcastle needed a reaction after being thrashed 4-1 by Leeds on Monday. They produced one inside three minutes.

Willock set the tone almost immediately, bursting into the box and drilling his finish past Konstantinos Tzolakis. Hull’s £20 million summer signing, who had shipped only two goals before kick-off, was beaten before he had time to settle.

Newcastle didn’t let him breathe.

Four minutes later, Lewis Hall made it two. Recently recalled to the England squad, the full-back surged forward, exchanged sharp passes with Harvey Barnes and swept a low shot into the far corner. Two attacks, two goals, and Hull boss Adnan Jakirovic was left staring at a shell-shocked, newly promoted side.

They refused to crumble, but the damage was done early.

Injury-hit Newcastle dig in

Matthias Jaissle’s preparations had already been shredded. Tino Livramento’s hamstring injury on Friday added another name to a growing list of absentees, taking the tally to eight senior players out.

Jaissle still went bold. He trusted an 18-year-old, Sean Steur, to anchor a youthful midfield, and for most of the first half Newcastle kept Hull at arm’s length. The hosts moved the ball with confidence, pushed their full-backs high and hunted for a third goal that would have killed the contest.

Their chance arrived deep into first-half stoppage time. Jacob Murphy burst into the area and Sorba Thomas clipped him, leaving the referee pointing to the spot. Yoane Wissa stepped up, but his tame penalty lacked conviction and Tzolakis guessed right, plunging low to keep Hull alive.

That save changed the mood. Hull, who had already started to probe, almost halved the deficit before the whistle when Thomas darted to the near post and stretched for Matt Crooks’ cross, only to send it agonisingly wide.

Hull fight back as Newcastle wobble

The pattern shifted after the break. Newcastle’s intensity dipped, Hull’s belief grew. Jaissle tried to wrest back control by withdrawing the tiring Steur and sending on Fabian Schär, reshaping his side into an unfamiliar back three.

The gamble went wrong almost instantly.

A mix-up at the back, with Lewis Miley caught in possession, opened the door. Mohamed Belloumi pounced, robbed him, and slipped the ball into substitute Mohamed-Ali Cho. The former England youth international needed no second invitation, curling a precise left-footed strike beyond Lukas Hornicek from close range to drag Hull back into it.

From there, it was siege football.

Hull poured forward, flooding the box with crosses and peppering Newcastle’s area with shots. Every loose ball felt dangerous, every clearance desperate. Newcastle, so slick and ruthless in the opening 10 minutes, were suddenly clinging on, forced into a rearguard operation as the clock crawled towards full-time.

Table tightens as break looms

Newcastle survived. The 2-1 win hauls them up to eighth on eight points, tucked just behind seventh-placed Hull on goal difference after an opening run that has veered from heavy defeat to hard-fought resilience.

The international break now offers Jaissle a breather and, crucially, a chance to patch up a bruised squad before they face Coventry City and try to turn this response into a genuine surge up the table.

For Hull, this first defeat after two wins and two draws is a jolt rather than a crisis. Jakirovic must now prove his side can absorb that early blow to their momentum and come back swinging when Everton arrive.