On paper it always looked as if it would be a close encounter. A rejuvenated Hull City side who had lost just one of their last eight matches but still in the relegation zone, against a Burnley team sitting comfortably mid-table but enduring an abysmal away record.
Impressive performances by Huddlestone and Grosicki
Although the hosts enjoyed more possession, there was barely anything to choose in a basketball-style match between the two teams. Hull attempted five more shots but Burnley managed two more on target. With just four combined shots on target from a speculative 25, 16% success rate will be a big worry for both managers.
Despite the Tigers striking just one of those shots goalbound from 15 attempted, that being the penalty by Tom Huddlestone, Marco Silva should be encouraged by the way his team performed. Huddlestone ran the tempo of the game from central midfield and deserved to score the opening goal, though Tom Heaton will be disappointed to concede after getting a hand to ball and contributing a rare mistake in an otherwise relatively flawless season. The home fans were also buoyed by another energetic display by Kamil Grosicki who went close on numerous occasions and seems to have filled the set-piece void left by Robert Snodgrass.
Still concerns in defence
Yet there are still concerns for Hull in defence. Though Harry Maguire is proving dangerous when driving out of central defence with the ball at his feet, the former Sheffield United defender looks short of pace and was exposed a couple of times by Andre Gray in a back four.
However the greatest concern comes when defending set-pieces. Hull had a warning when Ben Mee saw his header spilled onto the crossbar by Eldin Jakupovic. They were then later made to pay when Alfred N'Diaye got sucked into the flight of the ball and lost Mee's defensive partner Michael Keane. The England international chested the ball down and fired past Jakupovic with a finish that his twin brother Will would surely have been admiring from the Hull City treatment room.