Hull City 1-0 Swansea City
- Published
Championship side Hull City progressed to the fourth round of the League Cup with a win over top-flight Swansea, as Jake Livermore returned for the Tigers.
England midfielder Livermore had been suspended since May following a positive cocaine test.
He played 69 minutes and was given a rousing reception by the home fans.
David Meyler's close-range finish before the break was enough for Hull to progress, with the visitors missing a host of first-half chances.
Livermore was spared a lengthy ban by the Football Association because of "unique" personal circumstances.
Swansea made 10 changes from Saturday's draw with Everton and had plenty of chances in the opening 45 minutes, but they were made to rue their wastefulness.
Matt Grimes headed over, Gylfi Sigurdsson slid the ball past an empty net and Wayne Routledge missed two chances.
The winner came when Shaun Maloney's header was parried into the path of Meyler, who poked home underneath the crossbar.
Hull were more comfortable after the break although Kyle Bartley hit the post late on for the frustrated visitors.
Hull manager Steve Bruce:
"It was a big night for Jake for obvious reasons and I'm sure he appreciated the support he got from our fans.
"He's had the support of the club from the moment this happened and now he's played his first game he can get back on with his career.
"He's been through a tough time, a really tough time, and it's important now he gets his career back on track."
Swansea boss Garry Monk:
"If you played that game 100 times you'd win 99.
"They scored with pretty much their only chance and we had so many chances it could have been a cricket score in the first half.
"We just didn't take any of them and got hit with a classic sucker punch. We showed a lack of composure which was disappointing."
- Published15 September 2015