City win home season opener with Oli's strike

IMPRESSIVE TIGERS SNATCH DESERVED VICTORY WITH MCBURNIE'S INJURY-TIME GOAL AGAINST OXFORD

- By BARRY COOPER

Oliver McBurnie slammed in a stoppage-time winner to give Sergej Jakirovic a winning start at the MKM Stadium, as Hull City beat Oxford United 3-2 in dramatic fashion.

City twice squandered the lead against Gary Rowett's men and it looked like it would be heading for a 2-2 draw until McBurnie slammed in the winner from Ryan Giles' cross to spark wild scenes.

Barely had the crowd taken their seats before City roared into the lead with Joe Gelhardt firing in the opener inside two minutes, but shoddy defending allowed the visitors to level up within seven minutes through Will Lankshear's sliced volley.

A fabulous half of football continued when Matt Crooks made it 2-1 from Gelhardt's pass, and again, City's inability to defend long throws allowed Cameron Brannagan to volley in the net from the edge of the box and make it 2-2 inside 26 thrilling minutes.

Despite their dominance in the second period, City couldn't find the winning goal their play probably deserved, and while there were numerous positives, the overriding feeling was that two points had been dropped until their star summer signing popped up with a moment to remember.