Hull City face an uphill task to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League after they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Lokeren.
After an uneventful first 45 minutes, the Belgian side started the second half in positive fashion and took the lead when Hans Vanaken capitalised on a mistake from Allan McGregor before slotting the ball into an empty net.
Hull rallied towards the end of the match, but after Thomas Ince and James Chester failed to convert half chances, the Tigers will return for the second leg knowing that they must win to keep their hopes alive.
Read below to see how the action unfolded at the Daknamstadion.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the match between Lokeren and Hull City in the playoff round of the Europa League.
After Tottenham Hotspur got a win on the board for the Premier League against AEL Limassol, it's now up to Hull City to see if they can make it an English double in the Europa League this evening. It's going to be tricky though - Lokeren have been performing well in Belgium and boast the best defence in their division. We could be in for a tight game!
For those of you that don't know, this is Hull's first appearance in European competition but they made a pretty good fist of it in the third qualifying round when they fought back to defeat Trencin. However, Lokeren will be a much tougher test than the Slovakian outfit and after making a whole host of alterations (I will get to that shortly), Steve Bruce's side will have to dig deep to earn themselves some kind of advantage for the second leg next week.
HULL CITY XI: McGregor; Rosenior, Maguire, Chester, McShane, Figueroa; Meyler, Brady, Boyd; Aluko, Sagbo
HULL CITY SUBSTITUTES: Harper, Huddlestone, Livermore, Jelavic, Ince, Robertson, Elmohamady
After their victory over Queens Park Rangers at the weekend, Steve Bruce has opted to make nine changes to his starting lineup, with Allan McGregor and James Chester the only survivors from that game. It's a strong looking bench though, and they could have a part to play if Hull's second string don't make an impact during the first hour.
LOKEREN XI: Verhulst, Scholz, Odoi, Maric, Overmeire, Persoons, Galitsios, Remacle, Dutra, Vanaken, De Pauw
LOKEREN SUBSTITUTES: Barry, Mertens, Henrique, Leye, Kaya, Abdurahimi, Ngolok
PREDICTION! If Steve Bruce had named his strongest lineup, Hull would have been considered the favourites for this match, but a weakened team could allow Lokeren to take a lead to the KC Stadium next week. They are unbeaten in their last four in all competitions and in front of a home crowd, they are likely to be a constant threat to the Tigers. Lokeren to win 2-1.
Before we get underway in Belgium, I will point you in the direction of all our match report for the Spurs game. The North London side were behind for much of the game before two late goals earned them victory in Cyprus.
The two teams are beginning to emerge from the changing rooms at the Daknamstadion. Kickoff will be taking place shortly! In the absence of Curtis Davies, Liam Rosenior will be skippering Hull tonight.
We are underway in Belgium.
The home side have started this game brightly, with Junior Dutra looking particularly lively in the final third. Hull attempted a counter-attack, but it was soon derailed by the Lokeren defence.
The Premier League have got on the ball a bit more during the past couple of minutes, with George Boyd and David Meyler combining well to give Liam Rosenior a chance to cross. However, his delivery didn't past the second man.
CHANCE! Another threatening move from the Tigers resulted in Yannick Sagbo being provided with a chance inside the penalty area, but when it seemed easier to score, the Frenchman dallied too long on the ball and ended up scuffing his effort off target.
Hull are playing some good in Belgium. A third move in the space of the last five minutes end with David Meyler firing weakly at Davino Verhulst, but it's a decent enough start nevertheless.
An attendance of 7.935 has been announced, which is around 550 short of capacity. At least 1,000 of those are Hull City fans, which is a tremendous effort.
It's been a quiet few minutes from both sides but Lokeren are slowly coming back into the game. It's similar to how Hull began in Trencin, but Hull let that early momentum slip in Slovakia - they need to avoid that tonight.
Steve Bruce looks to have made a slight alteration to his formation. James Chester had started the game in a back three, but he is now operating in front of a back four. That's an interesting move from Bruce, who would surely have been happy with the start that his team had made.
George Boyd is popping up in threatening areas for Hull, but he's not having much impact when he gains possession. You'd have thought that the creative midfielder would be more suited to the pace of a European clash, but we are yet to see that so far.
Lokeren have some joy through Jordan Remacle down the right-hand side, but after he had capitalised on an error from Maynor Figueroa, he over-hit his cross and the ball went out for a throw-in.
The build-up play from both sides has promised much, but we've barely seen anything in the way of goalmouth action. It's been disappointing but I don't think that Hull will be too unhappy with this. If they come away without avoiding defeat this evening, they will be pleased.
SHOT! Lokeren win a free kick on the flank, but after that is half-cleared by James Chester, Nill De Pauw fired a well-struck effort over Allan McGregor's crossbar from the edge of the penalty area.
The players take the chance to get some fluids on board as the referee talks to Harry Maguire. Will that short break see an improved final 10 minutes of the half? Let's hope so.
SHOT! Junior Dutra sparks into life in the final third but he can only blaze the ball into the Hull supporters behind the goal.
Robbie Brady swings a free kick into the near post for Yannick Sagbo to get a header on goal, but it's another poor attempt that goes behind for a goal kick. Five minutes remaining of this first half.
Lokeren are coming on strong in the closing stages of this first half, with Denis Odoi getting into a couple of decent positions, but Hull deal with the danger adequately.
There will be one minute of added-on time.
HALF TIME: Lokeren 0-0 Hull City
It's not often that you are counting down the minutes for half time, but on this occasion, I was doing just that. It's been an drab opening period, but Hull are level, and I'm sure that they would have taken that before kickoff.
Hull have managed to register a couple of shots on target, but neither have tested Lokeren stopper Davino Verhulst. Allan McGregor has been even more inactive in the Hull goal, with the Scot only having to ensure that a number of long-range strikes miss the target.
Incase you missed it earlier, Spurs managed to come from behind to record a 2-1 victory over AEL Limassol. You'd think that will be enough to earn them a place in the group stages. Hull would be ecstatic if they can come away with the same scoreline. The second half in Belgium is coming right up.
Hull get us back us underway.
SHOT! We are just three minutes into this second half and we've already come closer to a goal than we did before the break! Lokeren's Nill De Pauw let fly from 25 yards that forced Allan McGregor to push the ball wide after it appeared to be on his way towards the top corner.
We haven't seen anything of Hull City in an attacking sense since the restart. If that doesn't change soon, expect to see the likes of Tom Huddlestone and Thomas Ince warming up on the touchline.
One man that I haven't mentioned this evening is Sone Aluko, but the attacker has worked hard to try to create something for his team. He had a pivotal part to play in the last round, which is probably why he was trusted with striking duties tonight.
GOAL! Lokeren 1-0 Hull City (Vanaken)
Oh dear, Allan McGregor has had an absolute shocker. The Scottish goalkeeper kicked the ball straight to Hans Vanaken on the edge of the penalty area, and the Belgian proceeded to take the ball around the stopper before tapping home into an empty net.
Now then, Steve Bruce - over to you. The Tigers need to change things up and fast because Lokeren are threatening to open up a clear advantage at the Daknamstadion. Junior Dutra tries his luck from 20 yards but his shot fizzes off target.
Hull are at sixes and sevens. The Belgian side are going for the kill but Allan McGregor has gone some way to redeeming himself with two instinctive saves in the space of a minute. The Tigers can't continue like this.
Hull manage to earn some respite from the constant attacks from Lokeren by earning a corner but George Boyd's cross is easily headed clear.
SUBSTITUTION! Steve Bruce finally makes changes to his lineup. Robbie Brady and Yannick Sagbo have been withdrawn with Thomas Ince and Nikica Jelavic being brought on in their place.
The introduction of Ince and Jelavic has seen Hull try to stamp their authority on possession, and after a prolonged period of build-up play, a Liam Rosenior header was directed straight at Davino Verhulst.
This is better from Hull, who win another corner after a Lokeren defender is forced to head behind. The ball is initially cleared, but after it returned to Thomas Ince, the winger saw a shot diverted wide of goal by the goalkeeper.
SUBSTITUTION! Ahmed Elmohamady is the final alteration for Hull as they search for an equaliser. George Boyd is the man who has been withdrawn.
SHOT! Where was this earlier in the game? Sone Aluko does well before playing the ball to David Meyler. The former Sunderland midfielder wasted no time before striking a long-range effort on goal, but Davino Verhulst was equal to it to tip it over the crossbar.
BOOKING! Paul McShane has gone into the book for what is the first yellow card of the match.
The home supporters continue to be in high spirits. They think that they have this game won. I'm sure that Hull will have something to say about that in the final few minutes of this game.
CHANCE! Sone Aluko has maintained his threat in and around the penalty area but after delivering a good cross for James Chester, the defender could only head wide. He should have done better with that.
There will be four minutes of added-on time.
The Lokeren supporters are singing "You'll never walk alone". I can't say that I know the reason behind that! Hull are still pressing, but they can't get a shot on goal. Two minutes to go.
FULL TIME: Lokeren 1-0 Hull City
The full-time whistle has been blown at the Daknamstadion and Hull City have fallen to a 1-0 victory away at Lokeren. The Tigers had the better of the closing 20 minutes but they can have few complaints with the result. Goalkeeper Allan McGregor won't want to see any replays of the goal...
The second leg of the tie will take place at the KC Stadium next Thursday. It promises to be a nervy occasion for all involved!
That will be all from Sports Mole for this match. Thank you for joining us, and if you wish to check out all of the latest news from the Europa League this evening, you can do so by clicking here. Goodbye for now.
Written by
Darren Plant
Darren Plant
