Brentford rally for a draw at Hull City after McBurnie penalty

A penalty converted by Oliver McBurnie in the 23rd minute had Hull City dreaming of a statement win at the MKM Stadium. Brentford, though, found an answer in the second half through Dango Ouattara to seal a final 1-1 in the Premier League and walk away with a point that, on paper beforehand, made plenty of sense.

The match opened with Brentford looking to catch Hull out from set pieces: Igor Thiago and Sepp van den Berg both tested the keeper with early headers that missed the target. Hull City, more organized than eye-catching, gradually gained ground through the surging runs of Mohamed Belloumi and found their reward in a moment inside the box: Tim Iroegbunam went down after contact from Aaron Hickey, the referee pointed to the spot and booked Brentford's fullback. McBurnie made no mistake from twelve yards to make it 1-0 in the 23rd minute.

With that lead in hand, the home side held on until halftime, though Brentford were already signaling intent through the work of Dango Ouattara and Kevin Schade out wide. The equalizer came just after the restart, in the 62nd minute: an assist from Igor Thiago left Ouattara with a tap in from close range, and the Ivorian finished with his right foot into the top corner to make it 1-1. The goal rewarded a spell of control Brentford had been building through possession and ball management.

More chances, but no winner

After the equalizer, the match opened up. Hull City looked for answers with the introductions of Mohamed-Ali Cho and Brooke Norton-Cuffy, while Brentford freshened up their attack with Jaidon Anthony, Mikkel Damsgaard and Callum Wilson. There were shots from both sides (Cho, Regan Slater, Jaidon Anthony, Dango Ouattara, Callum Wilson) that either forced saves or went narrowly wide, but neither team could find the goal that would have tipped the balance in the closing stretch.

The numbers reflect a match that was even on the scoreboard but saw Brentford take more of the initiative:

Brentford controlled possession and created more clear-cut chances, something also reflected in the post-match xG: 1.84 for Hull City compared to 1.74 for Brentford, a figure that shows just how even the match was in terms of chances despite the visitors having more shots on target.

Our preview published ahead of kickoff gave Brentford a 61% chance of winning, against a 24% chance of a draw and just 15% for Hull City, with expected goals of 1.89 for the visitors and 0.83 for the home side. The final result, with Hull City taking the lead and holding on for a good chunk of the match, strayed from that script: the draw ended up being the outcome, but not before Sergej Jakirovic's side threatened to walk away with all three points.

Where it leaves the table

In the Premier League standings, the draw leaves Brentford in sixth place with 11 points (2 wins, 5 draws, 1 loss in 8 matches), while Hull City sit tenth with 10 points (2 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses). The gap between the two sides is just 1 point, a fair reflection of how tight the match was at the MKM Stadium.

Hull City add another draw to a season that already has four in the league, left with the feeling of having let slip a lead they held for almost 40 minutes. Brentford, for their part, confirmed on the field what the forecast had suggested: a team capable of turning around a scoreline through possession and patience, even if this time it wasn't enough for all three points.