Hull City’s newest arrivals continued their strong start to the season by edging out Stoke City in a dramatic Carabao Cup tie that was decided from the spot. After a 2-0 victory over Manchester United at the weekend, the Tigers travelled to the bet365 Stadium on Saturday and fought a 1-1 draw before prevailing 5-4 in the penalty shoot‑out. The opening goal came from Robert Bozenik, who took advantage of a well‑timed cross from Wales winger Sorba Thomas.
Thomas, who had recently turned down a move to Hull, cut in from the left, whipped a low ball into the box and Bozenik met it with a clinical finish to put the hosts ahead. Stoke’s response arrived just before the break when Kieran Dowell headed home a corner, restoring parity and setting the stage for a tightly contested second half. Both managers made extensive changes to their line‑ups. Hull’s Sergej Jakirovic, fresh from the upset of Manchester United, rotated eleven players, giving debuts to Lucas Herrington and Matt Targett and introducing midfield pair Jens Hjerto‑Dahl and Lucas Gourna‑Douath.
The new faces showed promise, particularly Hjerto‑Dahl, who opened his body and curled a shot towards the far post before it was pushed wide by goalkeeper Josh Griffiths. On the Stoke side, Mark Robins, still reeling from two early Championship defeats, also reshuffled his squad, handing starts to Bozenik, Luke Graham, Ben Pearson, Tomas Rigo, Million Manhoef and Laurence Giani. The first half remained balanced, with both sides creating a handful of chances but failing to find a clear breakthrough.
Hull’s goalkeeper Viktor Johansson was rested, allowing the former West Brom keeper Griffiths to keep a clean sheet at halftime. He denied Dowell’s long‑range effort and later saved a second attempt, demonstrating why he was trusted between the sticks. The second half saw Hull’s Nigerian winger David Akintola return to the pitch for the first time since January. Akintola generated two golden opportunities for the Tigers.
He first forced a cross from Targett to miss the right‑hand post, then rounded Griffiths and struck the side‑netting after a pass from Liam Millar. His subsequent shot was comfortably saved by the Stoke keeper, but his energy and pressing helped keep the visitors on the front foot. Stoke’s new signing George Hirst stepped up for the penalty shoot‑out but saw his attempt saved by Hull’s substitute keeper Dillon Phillips. Hull, however, were flawless from the spot, converting all five of their penalties.
Mohamed Belloumi’s successful kick sealed the Tigers’ progression to the third round – a milestone the club had not reached in six years. Post‑match, Hull captain reflected on the performance: "We played well overall, with few clear‑cut chances for either side.
Our movement in the box was sharp and the delivery was excellent, which allowed Bozenik to score again. We need to build confidence and dominate games, and I think we did that.
The goal we conceded was a typical mistake – we were too deep, missed tackles and gave them space. Overall, I felt we were the better team, especially with several youngsters making their debuts. Losing on penalties isn’t a disgrace; the shoot‑out was mostly solid apart from the inevitable miss.
We take away good minutes, solid performances and the fact that we’re still unbeaten." Jakirovic added his perspective: "We’ve now broken another record – two penalty shoot‑outs in a row! The match gave us a chance to rotate the squad after the Manchester United game, which generated a lot of excitement and a bit of pressure.
I want to use this competition to give other players experience because you never know when you’ll need them. We featured Hidemasa Morita, Lucas Gourna‑Douath, Jens Hjerto‑Dahl, Abdulkadir Omur, David Akintola, Cody Drameh and gave Lucas Herrington a taste of English football – the intensity, the dynamism, everything we need for the future. Akintola could have scored a hat‑trick; he showed great effort, energy and pressed well, even if he missed a goal." The victory keeps Hull’s cup run alive and provides a platform for the manager to continue integrating his new signings. The team will now turn its attention to the next round, hoping to replicate the resilience shown against Stoke and perhaps add another upset to their early‑season résumé.