Hull claim replay with 1-1 draw

Hull 1 Middlesbrough 1

Nicky Forster came off the bench to claim an FA Cup third round replay for Hull as Barclays Premiership Middlesbrough were made to pay for missed chances.

Forster had only been on the pitch three minutes when he headed a 79th-minute David Livermore free-kick past goalkeeper Brad Jones to cancel out Mark Viduka’s opener.

The Australian had put the Teessiders ahead with a drilled 73rd-minute shot after seeing strike-partner Aiyegbeni Yakubu waste two glorious opportunities before the break.

That demonstrated exactly why manager Gareth Southgate wants to keep him at the Riverside Stadium beyond the terms of his current contract, which expires at the end of the season.

However, the Boro boss will have been less impressed by the marking which allowed Forster to book his side a trip to the north-east and deny Boro a first away win of the season.

And he will not have been happy either with the finishing of £7.5m (€11.1m) striker Yakubu, who misfired again three minutes from time to let the Tigers off the hook.

By contrast, opposite number Phil Brown will have been delighted with the effort of his players, who sent the majority of a crowd of 17,520 home delighted with a creditable draw.

The absence of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and England defender Jonathan Woodgate from the starting line-up may have been disappointing for Southgate, but Brown had even bigger problems.

Already missing the suspended Damien Delaney and Dean Marney, he named a 16 for his first game since being appointed as manager until the end of the season which did not include in-form duo Nick Barmby and Craig Fagan either.

After a pedestrian start to the game, Boro settled and could really have had it wrapped up by half-time.

Front two Viduka and Yakubu were at times too hot to handle for the Tigers’ rearguard, and the Nigerian left the pitch at the break not quite able to believe he had not added a double to his nine goals for the season.

He found himself in on goal on 22 minutes after defender Michael Turner had lost his footing as he tried to prevent the striker from collecting Viduka’s through-ball.

However, although he appeared to have rounded Boaz Myhill, the keeper managed to get a touch to his shot which took enough pace off the ball to allow Danny Coles to clear.

Yakubu had the goal at his mercy two minutes later when Stewart Downing’s left-wing cross eluded Myhill, but he overran the ball and although he ended up in the net, it did not.

Boro were dominating with Downing revelling in the space he was afforded down the left, but to their credit, the Coca-Cola Championship side rallied and might have taken the lead themselves as time ran down.

Striker Jon Parkin forced a 36th-minute save from stand-in keeper Brad Jones and Stuart Elliott repeated the feat with a 41st-minute header.

However, the home side felt they should have had a penalty a minute later when Stephen McPhee’s shot was blocked by Julio Arca, although referee Uriah Rennie - who had turned down earlier appeals for Chris Riggott’s challenge on Parkin - ruled that any contact with his arm had been accidental.

Yakubu was almost handed a chance within two minutes of the restart when Ian Ashbee’s mishit clearance forced Myhill to sprint from his line, and errors blighted both sides as they tried to re-establish a rhythm.

In the 52nd minute Downing forced a fine save from Myhill with a dipping free-kick and then both Viduka and Emanuel Pogatetz miskicked in front of goal after the keeper had failed to deal with the resulting corner.

Hull were struggling to force the Premiership side back and Brown withdrew Elliott on the hour to send on another striker Daryl Duffy, back at the KC Stadium after a successful loan spell at League Two Hartlepool.

But it was Parkin who found himself in on goal on 64 minutes after being played in on the left, although Riggott, deputising for Woodgate, timed his challenge in the box to perfection to deny the striker the chance to shoot.

Downing blazed a left-foot shot well wide in the 68th minute, but Parkin will feel he should have done better seconds later when he directed a weak header straight at Jones from Andy Dawson’s left-wing cross.

However, the visitors finally made their Premiership class tell 17 minutes from time when substitute James Morrison’s run allowed Yakubu to feed the ball out Viduka, who blasted a low drove past Myhill and into the bottom corner.

But Forster’s header opened up the game once again as Myhill saved from Morrison and then tipped a Viduka effort on to the post after Yakubu had fired wide.