Hull City 2 Swansea City 0: Abel Hernandez and Josh Tymon give Marco Silva first win in debut match in charge in match overshadowed by fan protests

HULL CITY boss Marco Silva won his first game in charge in a drab 1-0 win over Swansea - but it was overshadowed by a terrible attendence and fan protests.

In a drab first half, the biggest talking point was a boycott by Hull fans protesting against their chairman Assem Allam.

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Huge swathes of empty seats greeted the two teams as they came out as supporters made their dissatisfaction clear about how the Tigers are being run.

While on the pitch, Marco Silva’s bow as City head coach was a tame affair with both sides mustering just one chance apiece.

The second period was not much better until the 78th minute when Hull striker Abel Hernandez, who slotted home from Shaun Maloney's pull back.

And just before full time, youngster Josh Tymon scored his first goal in senior football to put the game beyond doubt and see Hull through to the next round.

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FACTS, STATS, GOALS & LOLS

• Only around 5,000 were in the 25,000-capacity KCOM Stadium for boss Marco Silva’s first game in charge, with the North Stand and the upper tier of the West Stand were completely closed.
• Hull fans had boycotted the match in protest at the owners, the Allam family. The stay-away was planned three weeks ago by the Supporters’ Trust.
• A section of those that did turn up still chanted, “We want Allam out”. You wonder why they didn’t join the boycott like the rest of their fellow fans.

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• Despite the subdued atmosphere, it was strange new manager Silva was not even introduced before kick-off. The PA announcer merely referenced the Portuguese in passing as he said, “The start of a new era for Hull City”. His declaration of “the magic of the FA Cup is here” was also a tad optimistic.
• Premier League safety is clearly Silva’s priority but he still selected his best available side for this third-round tie. That, though, is largely because he barely has any players to pick from.
• Winger Robert Snodgrass started up front – a day after Hull turned down a £3million bid from West Ham. The Tigers cannot afford to let their top scorer leave this month.
• Swansea also have a new gaffer in Paul Clement and his debut match at a near-empty KCOM was a far cry from the last time he was in a dugout. That was in December as Bayern Munich’s No2, when 75,000 saw the hosts beat title rivals RB Leipzig.

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• In the first team selection of his Swans reign, Clement handed record £15.5million striker Borja just his sixth start as one of six changes from the team that won at Crystal Palace in midweek.
• Hull keeper Eldin Jakupovic came in for his usual cup run-out in place of David Marshall. And he impressed, just like he did in the EFL Cup quarter-final penalty shoot-out win over Newcastle last month. The Swiss international is likely to stay in net for Tuesday’s EFL Cup semi-final first-leg at Manchester United.
• Tigers striker Abel Hernandez came off the bench in the second half for his first appearance in two months following a hernia operation – and he scored his first goal since August in the 78th minute.

BIG PICTURE

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

HULL CITY: Jakupovic 7, Meyler 6, Livermore 6, Dawson 6 (Maloney 7), Robertson 6, Henriksen 6 (Hernandez 6), Huddlestone 5, Mason 6, Clucas 5, Snodgrass 6, Diomande 5 (Tymon 6)

Subs not used: Weir, Marshall, Bowen, Clackstone

Yellow cards: Huddlestone, Clucas

Goals: Hernandez, Tymon

SWANSEA CITY: Nordfeldt 6, Naughton 5, van der Hoorn 5, Fernandez 5, Kingsley 6 (Rangel 5), Fer 6, Cork 6, Ki Sung-yeung 6, Dyer 5 (Routledge 6), Baston 5 (Llorente 5), Sigurdsson 5

Yellow cards: Fabianski, Amat, Britton, Fulton

STAR MAN: Abel Hernandez, 7

WHAT THEY SAID

Paul Clement on low attendence and poor atmosphere: "It surprised me. I was expecting a bigger crowd. It was very quiet, not what I am used to. I found it very strange."