Match ends, Hull City 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 1.
Hull City 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
- From the section Football
Hull City reached the FA Cup quarter-finals with a deserved victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.
The hosts led when Jake Forster-Caskey was unable to prevent Curtis Davies's header dropping into the net.
Robert Koren's free-kick doubled the lead via deflections from two Brighton players.
Seagulls defender Lewis Dunk hit the bar from 10 yards out, and Leonardo Ulloa pulled one back with a header, but they could not find a leveller.
Hull, who are 11th in the Premier League, will now meet manager Steve Bruce's former side Sunderland in the sixth round.
Yet the Tigers came close to exiting the tournament last Monday, trailing the Seagulls 1-0 with five minutes of the initial meeting remaining before Yannick Sagbo's goal forced a replay.
Neither side will have been overjoyed with having to fit in another fixture, particularly as it had to be played just two days after their most recent outings because of Uefa relegations blocking the game from taking place on Champions League nights.
Indeed, Hull made six changes from the team that beat Cardiff 4-0 on Saturday, with Brighton bringing in five new faces after losing 2-1 to Wigan.
Matty Fryatt, one of the home side's changes, missed an early chance but Hull did not have long to wait for the opener.
Davies's header from Koren's corner just looped inside a post, with Forster-Caskey unable to keep it out under pressure from David Meyler.
Hull doubled their lead when Koren's free-kick from 25 yards out hit midfielder Keith Andrews and then goalkeeper Peter Brezovan before dropping just over the goalline.
Championship play-off chasers Brighton, looking to set up a reunion with Sunderland boss Gus Poyet, improved after the break and Dunk smashed the ball off the crossbar from inside the penalty area.
Ulloa set up a tense finale when he headed home David Lopez's fantastic deep free-kick, in what was the visitors' first effort on target.
The Argentine goalscorer then curled a shot wide, and Solomon March forced Steve Harper into his only save of the match in injury-time, although an equaliser would have been undeserved on Brighton's 90-minute performance.
Hull manager Steve Bruce:
"The last time Hull were in a semi-final was 1930, wasn't it? There's not many around who went to that one.
"We've given ourselves a wonderful chance. It's a nice position to be in and now we've got to see if we can make it a really memorable season.
"(Wembley) is a wonderful occasion and, when you sit back in your cardigan and slippers, you remember the FA Cup. I've been fortunate enough to win it and it would be nice to go back there again if we possibly could."
Brighton assistant manager Nathan Jones:
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"We didn't come out of the blocks in the first half. We didn't play with any real intensity.
"We didn't show up. That wasn't an Albion performance in the first half. It felt like a bit of an anti-climax, the way we played, especially after what we'd done in the first game against them.
"We made a game of it and got the goal, but it was a mountain to climb against a good Premier League side."
Line-ups
Hull
- 22Harper
- 27El Mohamady
- 3Figueroa
- 14Livermore
- 5Chester
- 6Davies
- 10Koren
- 7MeylerSubstituted forQuinnat 84'minutes
- 12Fryatt
- 24AlukoSubstituted forBoydat 76'minutes
- 20SagboBooked at 77mins
Substitutes
- 1McGregor
- 2Rosenior
- 4Bruce
- 8Huddlestone
- 17Boyd
- 23Faye
- 29Quinn
Brighton
- 1Brezovan
- 14Calderón
- 17Ward
- 38InceSubstituted forMarchat 60'minutes
- 5Dunk
- 20Upson
- 21López MorenoSubstituted forObikaat 89'minutes
- 18Forster-Caskey
- 19Ulloa
- 4Andrews
- 9Rodríguez SánchezSubstituted forLua Luaat 45'minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 2Bruno
- 3Greer
- 15Chicksen
- 16Ankergren
- 22Obika
- 25Lua Lua
- 27March
- Referee:
- Andre Marriner
Match Stats
Home TeamHullAway TeamBrighton
- Possession
- Home53%
- Away47%
- Shots
- Home11
- Away7
- Shots on Target
- Home3
- Away2
- Corners
- Home8
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home10
- Away11
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Hull City 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 1.
Attempt saved. Solly March (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jonathan Obika.
Attempt saved. Matty Fryatt (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Stephen Quinn.
Booking
Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton and Hove Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Stephen Quinn (Hull City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by James Chester.
Foul by Matty Fryatt (Hull City).
Matthew Upson (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Jonathan Obika replaces David López.
Attempt missed. Yannick Sagbo (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by George Boyd.
Attempt missed. Leonardo Ulloa (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Keith Andrews.
Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Lewis Dunk.
Substitution
Substitution, Hull City. Stephen Quinn replaces David Meyler.
Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Íñigo Calderón.
Attempt blocked. David Meyler (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Robert Koren.
Attempt missed. Leonardo Ulloa (Brighton and Hove Albion) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Solly March with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Keith Andrews (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Solly March.
Booking
Yannick Sagbo (Hull City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Yannick Sagbo (Hull City).
Keith Andrews (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution
Substitution, Hull City. George Boyd replaces Sone Aluko.
Robert Koren (Hull City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David López (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Foul by David Meyler (Hull City).
Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal!
Goal! Hull City 2, Brighton and Hove Albion 1. Leonardo Ulloa (Brighton and Hove Albion) header from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by David López with a cross following a set piece situation.
Foul by David Meyler (Hull City).
Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Leonardo Ulloa.
Corner, Hull City. Conceded by Stephen Ward.
Attempt blocked. Sone Aluko (Hull City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by David Meyler.
Corner, Brighton and Hove Albion. Conceded by Ahmed Elmohamady.
Foul by Matty Fryatt (Hull City).
Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City).
Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Solly March replaces Rohan Ince.
Attempt missed. Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.