Eighteen-year-old Socceroos Defender Lucas Herrington Makes the Perfect Start to His EPL Career With Victory Over Manchester United

Australia's Lucas Herrington celebrates at full-time during his EPL debut for Hull City. ( Molly Darlington ) Australian teenager Lucas Herrington came on in the second half of Hull City's EPL opener against Manchester United. Herrington's team downed the EPL giants 2-0 as the defender looked comfortable in top-flight football.

The lanky Queenslander was immaculate at the heart of the home side's defence for the final half-hour as Hull confounded all the doubters to earn their first league victory over United in 52 years. Written off as overwhelming relegation favourites, the Yorkshire side were well worth their win over a lumbering United, whose build-up play was too pedestrian and attacking execution too shoddy. In the 38th minute the Tigers' central defender Nobel Mendy, who was signed on the same day as Herrington earlier in the month but who got the nod to start ahead of the young Aussie, scored their second goal.

By that time, Michael Carrick's United were already struggling to get to grips with a side that deservedly led through a couple of first-half set-pieces. Centre-back Semi Ajayi opened the scoring in the 17th minute when United failed to deal with a corner, and then Regan Slater whipped in a 38th minute free-kick that Mendy latched on to, nodding home expertly. But when Mendy had to come off injured in the 64th minute, Herrington, a record $A33 million signing for an Australian player, got his big moment, the former Colorado Rapids defender coming on in a triple substitution. He became the first Australian teenager to play in the Premier League since Harry Kewell and, at 18 years 351 days, is the third-youngest Australian to play in England's top-flight.