Chemsdine Talbi marked his comeback with the winning strike as Sunderland edged past Hull City to book their place in the next stage of the Carabao Cup.
The Moroccan attacker, absent from the squad for last week’s Europa League fixture and reportedly attracting attention from clubs in Saudi Arabia, netted the game’s decisive moment in what was otherwise a cagey, low chance affair.
Little happened in the opening period beyond a big shout for a penalty when Hull’s Robinio Vaz went down under pressure from Luke O’Nien inside the area, a claim that referees waved away.
With eleven changes made from the team that shared points at Brentford over the weekend, Sunderland looked understandably sluggish early on. Backup goalkeeper Melker Ellborg misjudged a rushed clearance attempt outside his area, though Mohamed Ali Cho couldn’t capitalise, sending his effort wide of goal.
As the half wore on, the home side began pushing forward more urgently. Jules Ahoka came closest with a curling attempt aimed at the far post, only for Hull keeper Dillon Phillips to produce a smart diving stop.
The breakthrough eventually arrived after the interval, when Talbi latched onto a swift counter attack and calmly lifted the ball beyond Phillips to settle the contest.
Hull, who also rotated heavily after their goalless stalemate against Aston Villa, retained just three starters from that match and rarely threatened a leveller. New signing Sorba Thomas, freshly arrived from Stoke on deadline day, offered flashes of quality through his trademark dead ball delivery, but it wasn’t enough to rescue anything from the tie.
Sunderland now await news of their next opponents when the fourth round draw takes place on Wednesday, 16 September, with matches scheduled for the week starting Monday, 26 October.
