3 things Hull City will have clearly learnt following Friday night's 3-1 win v Stoke | OneFootball

The Tigers recorded their first win of the season on Friday night

Everyone associated with Hull City felt a huge sense of relief on Friday night, as a first victory of the 2024/25 campaign was recorded at the sixth time of asking, defeating Stoke City 3-1 at the bet365 Stadium.

Tim Walter had already come under scrutiny after a slow start to the season amid reports that the German would be facing the sack if a winless run continued, but an almost immaculate second half performance has no doubt eased the pressure on the Tigers boss.

Despite still failing to take the lead in any competitive fixture under the 48-year-old, goals from Kasey Palmer, Regan Slater and a Ben Wilmot own goal completely turned the tide in the Potteries, showcasing the levels this new-look City side can perform to when on-song.

Of course, there were facets of the performance that still leave plenty of room for improvement, and with that being said, here are THREE things Hull will have learned from their first win of the Walter era.

Although there was somewhat of an improvement on this front compared to the 2-0 home defeat by Sheffield United, Hull can ill-afford to continue starting encounters in a slow fashion.

Both sides lacked a great deal of quality in the opening exchanges, especially the away side, who tallied six efforts off target from a possible seven.

And despite seeing the lion's share of the ball, once it was lost, defensive cracks continued to show on occasions, with the likes of Lewis Koumas, Bae Jun-Ho, Tom Cannon and Million Manhoef allowed time and space to break with ease, although Ivor Pandur was only forced into a save on one occasion.

In truth, after Wilmot found the net at the right end to give Stoke a deserved lead, Hull were lucky to still be in the game at the interval, with Manhoef squandering a golden opportunity which would've given the visitors a mountain to climb.

Whilst there are plenty of positive takeaways for Walter in terms of his side's resilience and quality in the second period, this will be one aspect of the overall performance that has to be worked on ahead of a home clash with Cardiff City next Saturday.

Liam Millar impact should see him start v Cardiff City next weekend

It was a surprise to some that Liam Millar wasn't utilised from the off on Friday night, having easily been City's most effective option from out wide so far this campaign, which included the most progressive carries out of any Championship player.

And, after replacing Abdus Omur at half-time, the Canadian's introduction completely swung the pendulum, causing Junior Tchamadeu havoc right from the off.

Millar's direct nature saw Hull able to move up the pitch at a much quicker tempo in comparison to the first half, and his link-up play with the likes of Palmer and Cody Drameh saw him as the key creative outlet with a pass completion ratio of 84%, 46 touches and the assist for Slater's 76th minute strike which gave the Tigers the lead.

The winning of six duels and successfully completing two out of three dribbles will give his boss plenty of food for thought when it comes to next week's selection, having been on the bench for the successive Friday night encounters, but the former Liverpool youngster has done more than enough to regain his starting berth.

Another substitute to emerge with great credit is the aforementioned Slater, and besides his crucial goal, the midfielder's combative nature was also key when it came to changing the outlook of the game.

Hull's midfield once again was so often bypassed in the first half, and whilst the introduction of Slater and Xavier Simons was somewhat enforced through an injury to Oscar Zambrano, both substitutes' energy were crucial in allowing City to constantly recover possession higher up the pitch, allowing the likes of Wouter Burger and Jordan Thompson little time and space on the ball.

The former Sheffield United man has also come in for criticism in recent times, but it was clear that his presence was hugely missed in the first half, which proved to be the case with the winning of a singular ground duel, a key pass and 83% pass completion rate - all with just 14 touches of the ball in a 32-minute cameo.

Walter hasn't been afraid to ring the changes in games, and in fairness to the German, a vast array of his in-game switches have come to fruition, which once again means that there is a strong likelihood that the 25-year-old could start from the off against the Bluebirds next weekend.