Abject Tigers defeated again as poor form continues

Pictures by Hull City

Hull City 0 - 2 Birmingham City

Sky Bet Championship

Attendance: 16,587

By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City correspondent

All sorts of dream scenarios must have been going through Acun Ilicali’s head after completing his long-awaited takeover of Hull City last year – cup run, top six, play-offs… promotion, even.

A relegation battle surely wasn’t in his script – but here we are, just a point off the drop zone, after another abject display that seems to suggest that the victory over Wigan 11 days ago was something of a fluke.

It makes all that talk of flying Tigers members to Turkey faintly ridiculous now – but perhaps being on a jet full of City fans to somewhere warm is preferable to being in a cold stadium full of City fans watching this dross.

Andy Dawson remains in charge after the move for Pedro Martins fell through a day or so after he’d been pictured with a beaming Ilicali at the MKM Stadium, and it doesn’t look like an appointment will be made any time soon. However, going by the performance today, City are in urgent need of some permanent direction soon, otherwise a return to League One surely beckons.

And, just when you thought things couldn’t get much more bizarre, an hour before kick-off, one of City’s goals was found to be 2in higher than the regulation size. Following an incident at Wigan Athletic, the EFL had decided to carry out mandatory checks – and City had fallen foul.

An angle-grinder and a Henry hoover were swiftly deployed to the scene, but this, coupled with the need for HawkEye to be recalibrated, meant that kick-off had to be put back 20 minutes. However, as our home record shows, you couldn’t really accuse the Tigers of having taken unfair advantage of this situation.

The stadium’s PA speakers appeared to be oddly quiet pre-match, too, so it was an altogether muted start for Dawson’s reshuffled side. Lewie Coyle was out through illness, Callum Elder was still injured and Regan Slater was suspended after picking up five yellow cards.

City had started promisingly – just two minutes in, Greg Docherty hit the side netting after a great bit of build-up play between Cyrus Christie and Dimitrios Pelkas, while Oscar Estupinan’s first sniff of real action came in the ninth minute, but he was ruled offside as he played in Dogukan Sinik.

City’s first corner came in the 11th minute. Taken by Pelkas, it met the head of Tobias Figueiredo, but his effort was high and easily collected by keeper John Ruddy.

But moments later came a corner at the other end, and, as it was being taken, Jacob Greaves (captain in the absence of Coyle) was adjudged to have pulled Krystian Bielik over by his shirt. Penalty to the Blues.

Their captain, Troy Deeney, stepped up and hammered it past Nathan Baxter, who had no chance. Two inches’ extra height on the goal not needed. Harsh decision? Poor defending? A bit of both, really – and yet another early goal conceded at home.

For the rest of the half, City did give it a good go, but for all their possession they rarely troubled Ruddy; that final ball in was lacking. They came closest to equalising in the 23rd minute, from another corner taken by Pelkas. It was flicked on by Christie, and Oscar, inches from the goal-line, stuck a leg out but just couldn’t connect with it.

Oscar was then upended on the byline by Maxime Colin, about five yards from the corner. Pelkas took the free kick, and Ruddy initially fumbled but managed to clear the danger.

In the 33rd minute, Ozan Tufan did well to win the ball midway in the Tigers half but then gave it away again. Birmingham seized the opportunity and went on the attack, and Baxter did well to dive to his right and tip away a strike from Juninho Bacuna.

It was end-to-end now, as Oscar nearly managed to muscle his way into a counterattack before Bacuna shot over moments later, and Christie shot just wide after an impressive run into the box in the 38th minute.

A through ball from Pelkas found Oscar, but Ruddy had anticipated it well and come out to collect, before Tufan hit a long-range effort that curled high and wide. It was exciting stuff, and the home crowd were responding – perhaps the loudest they’d been all match.

As the half drew to a close, Greaves was booked for a foul on the lively Hannibal Mejbri, and seconds later, as Greaves chased him into the penalty area, the big-haired Bluenose went down and claimed a penalty. Not given – to cheers from the home side that had not a little note of relief in them.

In first-half injury time, Jean Michael Seri saw a 20-yard shot well saved by Ruddy to his right. As City’s players went down the tunnel, there were boos - this time not for them, but for the match officials, and there was still an air of optimism that the Tigers could wrestle something out of the game.

But just two minutes into the second half, a big bucket of water was thrown over these sparks of hope. Tahith Chong hit a brilliant long-range cross from the halfway line and found Bacuna, who controlled the ball well, evaded his marker and hit a beautiful 20-yard strike that gave Baxter no chance.

Shortly after, Bielik shot just wide from the 18-yard line, and all the noise that could be heard now was being made by the Birmingham fans. City were in deep trouble, and this was looking like game over, and a long, painful half of football ahead.

Dawson made his first changes at this point, bringing on Randell Williams for Greaves in the 56th minute, but for all their first-half possession, the Tigers now looked like they were playing with 10 men – and they were forced into another change a few minutes later after Sinik pulled up. In came 19-year-old former Academy player Will Jarvis, of late playing for Scarborough on loan from the Tigers.

City’s possession all but dried up as Birmingham continued to press, at one point winning three corners in succession.

At last, the Tigers won a corner in the 72nd minute – but this brief period of attack ended almost as soon as it had begun, as Tufan sloppily gave away possession in midfield. Chong latched on to it, racing through on goal with only Baxter to beat.

But as he advanced, the City keeper caught him in the area – and another penalty was given. There was no doubt about this one. It was utterly abysmal stuff from City, and, really, they deserved to receive further punishment for it.

Deeney stepped up again… and skied it. Had he been looking to convert a try for the other team who ply their trade at the MKM Stadium, he’d have won the two points. It was a proper row Z-er that brought a tiny bit of light relief to proceedings. But the jeers from the Tigers fans were somewhat hollow; what had gone before had been no laughing matter, and they were, after all, still 2-0 down and heading for defeat.

A triple substitution by Dawson saw Ryan Woods, Xavier Simons and Ryan Longman replace Seri, Tufan and Pelkas, but the game was long since up. With a couple of minutes to go, and the stadium rapidly emptying, Oscar headed well wide – almost in desperation, it seemed.

There were seven pointless minutes of added time, during which Docherty flashed a cross across goal and looked frustrated that there was no one there to meet it.

At the final whistle came a smattering of boos from those who were left in the stadium – and these were directed at the players.

Former Tiger Robbie Stockdale may have been brought in to assist Dawson ahead of today’s match, but this suggests that the current situation is being shored up, rather than urgent moves being made to find a new manager. But this mess needs sorting out sooner, rather than later.