Joe Gelhardt's Late Goal Secures Victory for Hull City Against Stoke
Joe Gelhardt scored a dramatic 90th-minute winner for Hull City against Stoke City, continuing his impressive form for the Tigers.
Stoke City dominated the first half and took the lead thanks to a stunning volley from Sorba Thomas. However, Hull City turned the tide after the break.
Semi Ajayi equalized for the visitors shortly after half-time, setting the stage for Gelhardt's late heroics.
The on-loan striker from Leeds United netted his seventh goal in nine appearances and his ninth overall for Hull, boosting their hopes for a playoff spot.
Despite Stoke's strong first-half performance, Hull could have been awarded an early penalty when Ashley Phillips brought down Matt Crooks.
Capitalizing on that missed opportunity, Thomas curled a right-foot shot towards the top corner, which Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur managed to deflect at full stretch.
However, Thomas was not to be denied and opened the scoring for Stoke with a superb strike in the 17th minute. Ajayi headed Aaron Cresswell's corner upwards, allowing Thomas to connect perfectly and unleash a right-foot volley into the net.
Stoke had opportunities to extend their lead, with Pandur diving to his left to save a shot from Bae Jun-Ho, while Robert Bozenik had a header disallowed for offside.
Hull capitalized on Stoke's failure to increase their advantage just three minutes into the second half, following some halftime substitutions by Tigers manager Sergej Jakirovic that energized the team.
Substitute Mohamed Belloumi appeared to be close to offside when he flicked Gelhardt's misdirected shot with what seemed to be his arm, but Ajayi reacted swiftly to head in his first goal for Hull.
Stoke gradually regained their composure, but Hull's captain Lewie Coyle made a crucial goal-saving challenge on Jun-Ho.
As the match progressed, Hull finished strongly, with substitute John Lundstram volleying over before the decisive moment arrived.
Stoke lost possession in their own half, allowing Belloumi to surge forward and set up Gelhardt, who fired a left-footed shot past Stoke goalkeeper Viktor Johansson to seal the victory.