Sunderland fans turn on Michael Beale as out-of-sorts Hull City win at Stadium of Light

Sunderland were beaten at home by one of their play-off rivals, with supporters turning their frustration to the manager

Just one month and a day into his tenure as Sunderland head coach, Michael Beale found himself the subject of supporters’ ire after another evening of frustration at the Stadium of Light. Replacing Tony Mowbray on a two-and-a-half year deal back in mid-December, Beale was tasked with kicking on from the groundwork laid by his predecessor but found himself facing his first real test of his tenure after a 1-0 defeat at home to Hull City.

The Black Cats started the game outside of the play-off positions knowing any sort of positive result would be enough to take them into the top six, but with three points the clear objective against a Hull side that had won just one of their last six as their own promotion push stutters along.

For Michael Beale, bidding to find some consistency of performance and results was key in a month punctuated by the FA Cup which means only a comfortable win over Preston North End and a loss at second-placed Ipswich Town has been played out so far this year.

To that end the hosts needed a confident start against their injury-hit and out-of-sorts opponents, what Beale got and the fans witnessed was one of the most flat opening 45 minutes of the season, with any air of positivity seemingly sucked out of the players as they failed to find a rhythm or any sort of real sustained threat.

At half-time as some fans reached for a hot drink, or perhaps even a cold one or two to liven up the spirits, the hope was the second half would improve. That wouldn’t be the case. Hope gave way to frustration and when Liverpool loan man Fabio Carvalho put Hull ahead with just under 20 minutes remaining that frustration turned to anger as “we want Beale out” and “sacked in the morning” echoed across the Stadium of Light.

That feeling remained as the full-time whistle blew on a game that did nothing to warm supporters on a biting north east night.

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It had been a very quiet opening 10 minutes to the game with little in the way of action to note with Alex Pritchard the first to fashion an effort when Trai Hume picked a pass straight through a huge gap in the Tigers midfield, finding Pritchard who carried towards the box but his shot lacked power and was straight at Allsop.

Without a frontman and natural right winger, Hull were finding it difficult to find any penetration and with Carvalho dropping deep, he had no runners in behind. In truth, the highlight of the opening 15 minutes was Ozan Tufan getting booked for a conversation referee Robert Jones didn't take kindly to.

On the half-hour, a decent move from the visitors saw Hull captain Lewie Coyle get himself into the box and poke towards the bottom corner, but Patterson was down well to save. That chance came after a sustained spell of possession from the Tigers, as the hosts stuttered to find their way.

Somehow Pierre Ekwah wasn't cautioned in the first half after pulling back Greg Docherty in an advanced position, which came as something of a surprise, given how generous with his cards referee Mr Jones was. Ekwah finally got his card early in the second for a crude lunge on Carvalho, but at least some sort of fight was being shown. Or was it?

Allsop was called into action just after the hour when Hume's fizzing volley from the edge of the box needed to be turned over. Clarke then glanced a header wide from a Pritchard corner, as Sunderland's pressure started to be cranked up.

Hull survived a spell of pressure from the home side and took the lead with 20 minutes to go when Carvalho diverted Morton's cross into the net with a crisp volley. That goal sparked a chorus of 'you're getting sacked in the morning' from all corners of the Stadium of Light, while the 1,000 or so away supporters chanted in support of their manager.

Sunderland needed a response and a big finish. Despite a late surge and a backs-to-the-wall defensive rearguard by Hull's back five, hey didn’t get it. And instead of forcing their way into a play-off position, Beale’s men find themselves losing further ground and losing out to one of their top six rivals.