Swansea 0 Hull City 2: Substitute Shaun Maloney and Abel Hernandez seal smash and grab win as promoted Tigers’ maintain their perfect start
Caretaker boss Mike Phelan followed up a history-making win over champs Leicester with this back-to-the-wall triumph
SHAUN MALONEY and Abel Hernandez bagged late smash-and-grab goals as Hull kept up their perfect start to life back in the Premier League.
Caretaker boss Mike Phelan saw his tenacious Tigers followed up their history-making win at champions Leicester with this defensive masterclass.
Hull skipper and centre-back Curtis Davies defied waves of pressure from Swansea before and after substitute Maloney stooped to head the visitors' opener on 78 minutes.
Then Maloney unselfishly teed up Hernandez to roll home the clincher three minutes into stoppage time.
FACTS, STATS AND LOLS
- New Swansea owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan watched from the stand - after a takeover described in the programme by chairman Huw Jenkins as a 'perfect marriage'.
- Hull scorer Shaun Maloney was the first substitute the Tigers have used this season, arrving on 72 minutes.
- Hull caretaker-boss Mike Phelan has had a perfect start two Premier League games, two wins.
- Nathan Dyer will hope to transform his Swansea fortunes - coming on as a late substitute after a season's loan at champions Leicester.
- Tigers defender Curtis Davies, now 31, looked as good as he was at the peak of his days with West Brom and Aston Villa when he was on the fringe of the England squad.
- On this form Gambian winger Modou Barrow could enjoy a major breakthrough season after loan spells with Nottingham Forest and Blackburn last year.
- Swansea might rarely attack so much at home this season for so little reward.
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
STAR MAN: Shaun Maloney (Hull)
SWANSEA: Fabianski 5, Naughton 7, Fernandez 6, Amat 7, Kingsley, Barrow 6 (sub Dyer 5), Cork 7, Sigurdsson, Fer 7 (sub Ki Sung-yueng 6), Routledge 6 (sub Montero 6), Llorente 5.
HULL CITY: Jakupovic 7, Livermore 8, Elmohamady 7, Robertson 7, Davies 8, Meyler 7, Huddlestone 7, Clucas 7, Snodgrass 7, Dimoande 6 (sub Maloney 8), Hernandez 7.
NEXT FIVE GAMES
SWANSEA
Aug 23 - Peterborough (a), EFL Cup
Aug 27 - Leicester (h), PL
Sep 11 - Chelsea (h), PL
Sep 18 - Southampton (a) (a), PL
Sep 24 - Manchester City (h), PL
HULL
Aug 23 - Exeter (a) , EFL Cup
Aug 27 - Man Utd (h), PL
Sep 10 - Burnley (a), PL
Sep 17 - Arsenal (h), PL
Sep 24 - Liverpool (a), PL
