Liam Millar back with a bang as Hull stretch winning run against Leicester

Liam Millar celebrated a first start for club or country in more than year with Hull’s opening goal in a nervy 2-1 Sky Bet Championship win over Leicester.

The Canada international, fit again after an anterior cruciate ligament injury, was also involved in the build-up to what proved Joe Gelhardt’s 31st-minute winner.

Substitute Aaron Ramsey pulled a goal back after 67 minutes but Leicester slipped out of the play-off picture after losing for the first time in nine league outings.

Miller’s comeback certainly lessened the absence of seven-goal top scorer Oli McBurnie with a knee injury and a touchline ban for manager Sergej Jakirovic following his yellow card at Birmingham last Saturday.

Millar’s only other goal for the Tigers came in a 3-1 win at QPR on October 1, 2024. Three weeks and three games later, his season was over.

He was outstanding in a first half which could have yielded even further Hull goals. A fifth-minute cross picked out Kyle Joseph but Jakub Stolarczyk saved low down at his near post at the second attempt.

A minute later Hull hit the front. Gelhardt’s fast break and cross from the right was converted with a first-time, rising shot from the returning star.

Millar fired another effort over the crossbar before a delightful cross was not matched by Joseph’s header after 21 minutes.

In between, Leicester almost equalised but Patson Daka’s close-range chance was superbly blocked by Semi Ajayi.

Foxes fans were already singing ‘Marti, Marti, sort it out’ in the direction of manager Marti Cifuentes even before Hull doubled their advantage.

Another astute Miller pass picked out Ryan Giles, who teased in a cross for Gelhardt to tap in his fourth goal of the season from close range.

Leicester were down but not quite out. So, when Abdul Fatawu curled a trademark left-foot shot goalwards, Ivor Pandur was at full stretch to push the ball away.

Unsurprisingly, Cifuentes made changes at half-time; Daka and Jordan James replaced by Jeremy Monga and Ramsey, scorer of Leicester’s goal against Portsmouth last time out.

Leicester offered far more of a threat in the second half and should have reduced their arrears on the hour but Ramsey missed the target with an unmarked header from Boubakary Soumare’s cross.

His next chance was much tougher but he fired a stunning right-foot shot from 18 yards into the top corner after Jordan Ayew laid the ball back.

Stolarczyk’s 76th-minute save prevented Gelhardt putting the game out of Leicester’s reach.

And the visitors almost snatched a draw when Harry Winks smashed a shot against the crossbar in stoppage time.