Fuller claims Stoke equaliser

With Stoke seeking a fifth straight league victory on home turf and the Yorkshire club defeated only once on the road this season, something had to give.

Marlon King curled Hull in front on the stroke of half-time but Jamaican international team-mate Ricardo Fuller equalised from the penalty spot after the break.

The tone was set in the ninth minute when the Britannia Stadium crowd erupted at their first throw-in in attacking territory.

Although Rory Delap's delivery came to nothing it was a rare occurrence of the ball reaching the danger area.

Even Hull's substitutes were intent on cancelling out Delap's missile launches into the area, with Dean Windass cheekily warming up in his vicinity as he prepared to hurtle one in seven minutes before the interval.

When Windass repeated the tactic on the stroke of half-time, referee Keith Stroud produced the game's first yellow card.

Hull had shown little going forward but when Dean Marney's surge was halted inside the Stoke half, Sam Ricketts lifted the resulting free-kick into the area, Michael Turner headed down, Marney flicked on and Jamaica striker King steadied himself before curling into the top corner.

The Tigers produced the best move of the game after the break as Geovanni and King interchanged to tee up Marney, whose side-footer from the edge of the box was held low down by goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.

Stoke got back on level terms in the 73rd minute after striker Fuller's foray into the area resulted in him being brought down by goalkeeper Boaz Myhill. Fuller picked himself up and celebrated his return to action by converting the penalty.