Hull City 0 Aston Villa 0: A point but no goals for Unai Emery's men

Villa claimed their first point of the season but are still waiting for their first goal after a frustrating evening in Hull.

Unai Emery’s team dominated possession at the MKM Stadium but could not take their chances against the newly-promoted Tigers.

John McGinn and Emi Buendia both wasted golden opportunities to break the deadlock early in the second half.

And the visitors were nearly made to pay when Mohamed Belloumi hit the bar with a stunning effort.

Analysis

A first point and clean sheet could make this seem a step forward for Villa.

But by the final whistle, this only felt like a defeat, such was their inability to turn dominance into goals.

Ross Barkley was denied by Hull keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis in the first half as Villa finally registered their first efforts on target of the season.

Yet the big chances came early in the second period. McGinn missed the target from 10 yards out, before Buendia did likewise from closer range.

Villa might have been ahead inside the opening two minutes had Nicolas Jackson been able to get his header from an Ian Maatsen cross on target. Instead, it looped wide of the far post as Tzolakis watched with relief.

It set the tone for a first half where Villa dominated possession, with the home side often forced to defend the box.

Teenager George Hemmings had Villa’s first effort on target of the season, firing low at the legs of Tzolakis following a neat exchange between Barkley and Emi Buendia.

That was a routine save for the keeper but the next one was of far greater difficulty. Matty Cash’s low cross was touched on by McGinn and Barkley’s bouncing, miskicked effort looked like creeping inside the post before Tzolakis’s fingertips nudged it round the post.

It was as close as Villa would get before the break.

Hull grew in confidence and twice forced Zion Suzuki into work. The second attempt, from Regan Slater, saw the keeper save diving to his right.

Villa and Hull were the two teams with the fewest number of shots on target through the first two matches, so the 0-0 half-time was probably to be expected.

The deadlock should have been broken five minutes into the second half by McGinn but after Villa had carved their opponents open, the skipper skied his chance from just 10 yards out with only Tzolakis to beat.

It was a dreadful miss which would be quickly rivalled by Buendia, who wasted some excellent work from Hemmings by blazing over the youngster’s cross.

Hull’s attacks were sporadic but Villa got a narrow escape when Belloumi took aim following a short corner routine, his curling effort crashing off the bar.

Other than that moment Villa were dominating but struggling to carve out a big chance. The ball dropped for Mings from a corner. His goal-bound shot was blocked.

Instead, it was the home side who finished the stronger. Substitute Mohamed-Ali Cho shot straight at Suzuki before McBurnie wasted a great chance to win it at the death.

Teams

Hull (5-4-1): Tzolakis, Coyle (Norton-Cuffy 64), Ajayi, Egan, Mendy (Herrington 71), Giles, Belloumi (Cho 82), Slater, Gourna-Douath (Hjerto-Dahl 82), Stroud (Thomas 64), McBurnie Subs not used: Hjerto-Dahl, Targett, Mouzakitis, Vaz, Cho, Phillips (gk).

Villa (4-2-3-1): Suzuki, Cash (Wan-Bissaka 85), Lindelof, Mings, Maatsen (Ruggeri 75), Barkley, Kamara, McGinn, Buendia (Alysson 75), Hemmings (Garnacho 75), Jackson (Abraham 85) Subs not used: Torres, Bogarde, Mbaye, Bizot (gk).