Hat-trick Hernandez is so Abel for Leonid
ABEL HERNANDEZ hit a hat-trick and Kamil Grosicki scored his first for Hull as Leonid Slutsky’s side ran riot.
Hernandez had opened the scoring with a first-half header before Jackson Irvine levelled for the Brewers, only to be sent off minutes later for a second booking.
Grosicki restored Hull’s lead early in the second half with a header before Hernandez completed his hat-trick.
Slutsky hopes to keep his current side together and said: “I shook hands with the owners on the players we have now staying here. It is not my money, so we will have to see.”
And he added: “Our supporters helped our team change the match because we had a very difficult 20 minutes in the first half.
“We started very well, we scored a goal and we had chances. But from 20 to 35 minutes we did not play good, we lost control of the match. We had one player more but I think it was a really deserved red card.”
The Brewers lost their captain Stephen Warnock after five minutes with an ankle injury, Lloyd Dyer coming on in his place.
Two minutes later the Tigers were in front through Hernandez’s first goal of the season. Markus Henriksen’s 20-yard shot came back off the bar and the Uruguayan was well placed to head in.
Burton were level just after the half-hour when Irvine curled a shot into the top corner from the edge of the area. But with eight minutes of the half to go the midfielder was shown a second yellow card, both for fouls on Jarrod Bowen.
Grosicki put Hull back in front five minutes after the break with his first goal for the club from a header.
Hull extended that lead five minutes later when Hernandez got his second, steering home from 15 yards.
He then completed his treble after 68 minutes when he slotted past keeper Stephen Bywater.
Burton boss Nigel Clough was unhappy with Irvine’s second yellow.
“The second one was not a booking, I thought it was harsh,” he said.
“The first booking was petulant and I have told him.”