Hull City 2 Fleetwood Town 0: Two Town forwards stretchered off in FA Cup exit
Fleetwood Town exited the FA Cup at the first round stage and suffered two worrying injury blows.
Josh Magennis opened the scoring for the Tigers in the first half before Reece Burke headed home a second after the hour mark to secure their progress into round two.
But Fleetwood boss Joey Barton will be counting the cost of potentially serious injuries to both Ched Evans and Harvey Saunders.
The forwards were both stretchered off at the KCOM Stadium and Barton will now be hoping anxiously for good news.
The game was barely two minutes old when Evans stayed down after what looked like a routine aerial challenge with City's Callum Elder.
Evans was attended to by medics from both sides, with play held up for around eight minutes before the former Welsh international was stretchered off the pitch.
James Scott fashioned a half-chance for the hosts once the game got back under way but Jason Leutwiler was more than equal to it.
Town were playing some neat stuff in the City half, with Evans' replacement Wes Burns particularly catching the eye, but there was a distinct lack of end product.
And that was punished when the hosts made the breakthrough just after the half-hour mark.
Josh Emmanuel was allowed to clip the ball into the box unchallenged and from his delivery Mallik Wilks nodded it on before Magennis prodded home.
Hull almost got in again down the right-hand side, when Wilks and Emmanuel linked up, only for Danny Andrew to get back and divert a Wilks attempt behind for a corner.
Jacob Greaves planted a header over the bar from the corner and it was fast becoming one-way traffic, with Wilks firing in a vicious shot that was blocked well by Andrew shortly after.
Right at the end of the half the stretcher was back out after Saunders had a coming together with a Hull defender before goalkeeper George Long could grab the ball.
It was unclear what injury Saunders picked up but the forward stayed down for over 10 minutes in what was the last action of the first half. Josh Morris replaced him for the second half.
The hosts continued their dominance after the restart and Scott flashed a dangerous ball across the Town box which just evaded Magennis from a few yards out.
Town just couldn't put any meaningful attacks together and just after the hour mark they found themselves 2-0 down.
Elder's pinpoint corner was met with a bullet header from defender Reece Burke to double the hosts' lead.
Fleetwood rallied and Paddy Madden's effort was blocked behind for a corner but the fact they didn't register a shot on goal in the entire game will be worrying for Barton.
Fleetwood: Leutwiler, Edwards (Finley 64), Connolly, Holgate, Andrew, Coutts, Camps, Whelan, Saunders (Morris 45), Evans (Burns 12), Madden; subs not used: Cairns, Boyes, Duffy, McKay
Hull: Long, Emmanuel, Burke, Greaves, Elder, Honeyman (Slater 75), Smallwood, Wilks (Mayer 80), Magennis, Scott (Lewis-Potter 61); Subs not used: De Wijs, Batty, Eaves, Ingram.
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