Newcastle United bounced back from their heavy defeat at Leeds with a hard-fought 2-1 Premier League win over Hull City at St James’ Park, ending the visitors’ unbeaten start to the season.

Joe Willock opened the scoring in the third minute, finishing from close range, and Lewis Hall doubled the lead in the seventh with a low shot into the bottom corner. Newcastle then missed a chance to go 3-0 up just before half-time when Yoane Wissa’s penalty was saved by Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis after Sorba Thomas fouled Jacob Murphy.

Hull pulled a goal back in the 67th minute through Mohamed-Ali Cho, setting up a tense finish, but Newcastle held on for a first home league win of the campaign under Matthias Jaissle. The result moved Newcastle to eight points from five matches and ended Hull’s unbeaten run.

Jaissle praised his side’s response after the 4-1 loss at Leeds. “We showed an incredible reaction after the defeat at Leeds. The first half was excellent, we could have killed the game with a third goal for sure,” he said. He also highlighted the difficulty of managing with nine players unavailable but was proud of how the squad defended their box late in the game.

Expected goals favoured Newcastle overall, with ESPN recording 1.41 xG for the hosts and 1.24 for Hull, reflecting a more even contest than the early scoreline suggested. Tzolakis’s penalty save proved pivotal in keeping Hull in the match, but Newcastle’s early double and second-half resilience secured three vital points.