10-man Hull City hang on to sink Norwich
Steve Bruce's side took the lead through Robbie Brady's first half penalty, but they had to play with 10 men for more than an hour after Sagbo was sent off for an apparent head-butt.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: August 24, 2013 10:21 pm IST
Hull City clinched their first win of the season as the Tigers held on for a 1-0 victory over Norwich despite the dismissal of Ivory Coast striker Yannick Sagbo.
Steve Bruce's side took the lead through Robbie Brady's first half penalty, but they had to play with 10 men for more than an hour after Sagbo was sent off for an apparent head-butt.
After last week's loss at Chelsea, Hull's rearguard action was enough to seal their first points since their promotion from the Championship, while Norwich are still waiting for their opening win of the campaign.
Norwich had started brightly and Leroy Fer, who was suspended for the Canaries' opening day draw with Everton, rose high at the far post to meet Steven Whittaker's cross.
It looked as though his header might creep in, but Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor was relieved to see it flash wide.
McGregor then pulled off a full-length diving save to deny Norwich winger Nathan Redmond.
But Hull gradually began to threaten and Sone Aluko pulled off a deft backheel which wrong-footed the Norwich defence and left Robert Koren clear on goal, only for the Slovenian to shoot over.
Bruce's team went ahead in the 22nd minute when Norwich's former Hull defender Michael Turner was penalised for a shove on Sagbo as the Ivorian attempted to reach a deep cross.
The contact looked minimal but referee Mike Jones pointed to the spot and Irish midfielder Brady made no mistake as he sent John Ruddy the wrong way.
Yet having won the spot-kick, within five minutes Sagbo found himself shown the red card for an off-the-ball clash with Russell Martin.
Words were exchanged between the pair before Sagbo advanced on his opponent and made contact with his forehead, with Jones wasting no time sending him off for violent conduct.
However, Hull midfielder Tom Huddlestone, a recent arrival from Tottenham, was able to stop the visitors generating any momentum with his tireless work-rate.
It was only in the closing stages that Norwich finally pushed forward, but McGregor produced a save of real quality to keep out Ricky van Wolfswinkel's towering header.