Hull City played out a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest in the evening kick-off at the KC Stadium, in a match where both teams defended well, passed neatly, but lacked the cutting edge to give the match life.

The Tigers had much the better of the first half after starting brightly. Short passing, built up patiently from defence, created several long-range chances for Jimmy Bullard, but keeper Lee Camp was rarely troubled in the Forest goal. John Bostock also contributed with a mazy run, albeit to similar effect.

The away side harried constantly to ensure City had little time on the ball, and any possession, although patient, occurred the safe side of the half-way line. Meanwhile, the lack of quality from Hull in the final third—compounded by a clearly unfit Jay Simpson—meant any shots were weak or trickled harmlessly wide.

The skies on Humberside grew dull as dusk fell after the break, and the football on offer remained a largely drab affair. This time, however, it was for Forest to dominate proceedings and Luke Chambers wasted a golden opportunity when missing the target with a header from four yards.

The large travelling crowd—having been vocal throughout—thought their team had broken the deadlock half way into the second half, when Robbie Earnshaw broke clear of the defence and lifted the ball over Matt Duke, only to be undone when the linesman flagged offside.

Other chances, including a close-range header form Earnshaw, were handled resolutely by the newly-arrived centre-back pairing of Daniel Ayala and Anthony Gerrard, the former in an impressive, man-of-the-match performance. Alongside them, Paul McShane and Andy Dawson picked up deserved bookings for cynical fouls caused by a lack of pace.

Nigel Pearson tried to change the run of play by bringing on Nick Barmby and Mark Cullen towards the death, but the lack of height up front meant that desperate long balls up to them were meet and drink for the Forest defence. By the last ten minutes then, both teams appeared to have settled for a point and played the ball into the corners.

Pearson took positives from his sides’ performance, praising the defending and noting the fact that Hull are yet to be beaten at home—nor concede a goal. On the evidence of this match though, he is also correct to suggest that there is room for improvement.

The 21,180 in attendance left the KC Stadium to find their team 18th in the table after seven games, and on this showing, the Tigers may have to settle for such a mid-table finish in May. That is unless they find some fire-power up front and can take their solid home form on the road. Norwich City await at Carrow Road next week.