Ipswich Town rally for 2-2 draw at Hull City as Enciso strikes late

A direct free kick from Oliver McBurnie in the 67th minute looked set to hand Hull City a win that had twice slipped through their fingers. But Ipswich Town struck back six minutes later through Julio Enciso, and the game at the MKM Stadium ended 2-2, a result that leaves both Premier League sides with mixed feelings.

Ipswich got off to a fast start. In the 21st minute, Florentino finished with his right foot, cutting in from the right, and placed the ball into the top corner after a through ball from Abdoul Ouattara. It was the reward for a first half in which the visitors had created the clearer chances, including a header from Emersonn that was denied by the home defense shortly before the goal.

Hull City came out a different team after the break and found the equalizer 12 minutes into the second half: Tim Iroegbunam finished with his right foot from inside the box, set up by McBurnie, to make it 1-1. McBurnie himself took center stage ten minutes later, converting a direct free kick with a right-footed strike that squeezed in down the right side of the goal to put Hull ahead 2-1. The MKM Stadium dreamed of a complete turnaround, but Enciso had other ideas: in the 73rd minute he unleashed a left-footed strike from outside the box that flew into the top left corner, assisted by Azor Matusiwa, who had just come on, to make it a final 2-2.

A dominance that wasn't enough

The numbers tell the story of an Ipswich Town side that controlled much of the game: they held 61.5% of possession to Hull's 38.5%, and fired off 15 shots to the home side's 9. Even so, both teams finished level on shots on target, with three apiece.

That gap in ball control also shows up in our estimated expected goals based on the shots taken in the match: Ipswich Town generated 1.593 compared to Hull City's 0.749, a difference that backs up the sense that the visitors were the sharper team, even though the final score ended level.

Beforehand, we had projected a tight match, with Hull City given a 34% chance of winning, 29% for a draw and 37% for Ipswich Town, along with combined expected goals of 2.67 (1.30 for the home side and 1.37 for the visitors). The final result, with four goals shared and a draw, isn't far from that even script, though the back-and-forth scoreline, with Hull City twice taking the lead, gave the match more drama than the cold number of a draw usually suggests.

The game also had its share of disciplinary tension, with yellow cards shown to Exequiel Palacios, Elliot Stroud, Matt Crooks, Julio Enciso, Semi Ajayi and Issa Diop, a reflection of a physical battle played right at the edge in several stretches.

What it means in the standings

In the Premier League table, the draw leaves both teams on 11 points after nine matches played, with Hull City in ninth place and Ipswich Town in 13th, separated only by goal difference. Neither side moves decisively in the standings, but the point keeps Hull City within touch of the middle of the table and stops Ipswich Town from falling further behind the pack around mid-table.

In the end, the MKM Stadium saw a bit of everything: an early goal, a partial home comeback with two goals in ten minutes, and an immediate response from Ipswich Town to avoid letting slip a point that, judging by their control of the ball, they felt belonged to them.