Hull City's dismal home form continued against fellow relegation strugglers Stoke City, losing 2-1 in a game they could simply not lose in the battle to stay up, and dropped them back to the brink of the drop zone.

The Tigers, who are quickly becoming fast starters under Ruben Selles, took a sixth-minute lead when Sean McLoughlin headed down a clever Steven Alzate cross into the path of Eliot Matazo to turn in from a tight angle. That lead should have been doubled shortly after with Matazo and Joao Pedro all seeing shots well saved by Viktor Johansson.

City's dominance wained towards the end of the half and were punished when Ali Al-Hamadi crashed in from a corner just before the interval, and Andrew Moran stepped off the bench to complete the turnaround with just over 15 minutes to go when he brilliantly spun and fired past Ivor Pandur.

Here's how Tigers reporter Barry Cooper rated the players at the MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon against the Potters....

Ivor Pandur: Barely had anything to do in the first half, apart from the pick the ball out of his net. Made a good stop in the second after being well beaten by the winning goal. 6/10

Matty Jacob: Decent opening 40 minutes for the most part before he failed to stop a cross into the box for the equalising goal. Lost Al-Hamadi badly in the second half. 5/10

Sean McLoughlin: Slotted back into the middle and did OK. Lovely mazy run at the other end. A solid enough display on a day where there were few major chances against his side, aside from the two that counted. 6/10

Alfie Jones: A solid first half as stand-in skipper. Will be furious at the manner of the equalising goal. Took a knock in the second half but was able to carry on. 6/10

Cody Drameh: Started brightly enough and made a couple of good challenges, but not sure what he was doing with the equalising goal. Lost their most dangerous player. Made a crucial block at the start of the second half. 5/10

Regan Slater: Made a rasping challenge which the crowd absolutely loved. Plenty of energy in the first half but like the rest of his side, struggled in the second. Went very close in the final minutes. 6/10

Steven Alzate: Showed some really quality on the ball, as we've come to expect. Lost his way late in the first half as Stoke assumed control. Fizzed over in the second half. 6/10

Eliot Matazo: His first start and home debut and it took him six minutes to score his first goal, converting well from close range. He could have had a second but shot straight at Johansson after great hold-up play from Pedro. A really encouraging home debut. 7/10

Joe Gelhardt: Worked really hard in the first half on the left-hand side. Ran his socks off all afternoon for little reward in the final third. 6/10

Abu Kamara: Warmed the palms of the goalkeeper early on and teed up Pedro for a good chance, was taken off for Louie Barry in the second half. 6/10

Joao Pedro Ran it hard in the first half. Brilliantly held it up to create a chance for Matazo before Kamara teed him up to shoot straight at the goalkeeper. Had a good effort early in the second before coming off. 6/10

Subs:

Louie Barry (for Kamara 55): Showed a couple of nice touches early on but could not get into the contest as it wore on and Stoke took control. 5/10

Kyle Joseph (for Pedro 55): Found it difficult to make an impact off the bench as the game wore on, but will be pleased to have got his home debut under his belt. 5/10

Lewie Coyle (for Drameh 56): Back on the pitch after a little lay-off, and will feel he could have got closer to Moran for the winning goal. 5/10

Matt Crooks (for Matazo 71): His goalbound effort was blocked as it looked like going in. 6/10

Nordin Amrabat (for Gelhardt 82): Caused some real problems when he came on. 6/10

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