City slump to third defeat in a row
Pictures by Hull City
Hull City 0 - 3 Stoke City
Sky Bet Championship
MKM Stadium
Attendance: 15,627
By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City correspondent
Following the death of the Queen last Thursday, Saturday’s Premier League and Championship fixtures were postponed as a mark of respect. Tonight’s were not. However, City perhaps did not get the memo, as for much of this game they played as though too much attacking verve would have been a sheer affront to the memory of Her Majesty.
The 3-0 reverse – City’s third defeat in a row – plunged them even further down the table, piling on more misery for Tigers fans amid the already sombre mood across the country.
City – and the crowd – arguably weren’t buoyed by the unremittingly turgid pre-match playlist – echoing mainstream local and national radio during this period of national mourning. Entirely understandable – and, some would say, obligatory – but not great for building up match atmosphere, stiffening the sinews and summoning up the blood, and all that. It’s probably the first time that pre-electric Bob Dylan has ever been played over the speakers in the MKM Stadium’s 20-year history.
There was a minute’s silence in memory of the Queen before kick-off, which was, for once, immaculately observed. No initial burst of applause amid appeals from others to hush, as happened during the Remembrance silence last year. It was a fitting moment of true solemnity that fans of both sides should be congratulated for respecting.
On to the game, then, which was altogether less edifying. Stoke were first out of the blocks, as Josh Tymon had a shot blocked in the first minute, and four minutes later Liam Delap – the 19-year-old son of long-throw merchant Rory – attempted a bit of a dramatic bicycle kick that went well over.
In the eighth minute, Tyler Smith was close to going in after a delivery from Callum Elder across the six-yard box, but his touch was deflected for a corner. A couple of minutes later, Ozan Tufan had a go from long-range. It was never going to trouble Stoke keeper Josef Bursik, but nevertheless it sparked a round of “Olé, olé, olé, Ozan Tufan” chants from the fans behind the goal in the North Stand.
A foul on Delap in the 13th minute by Jacob Greaves resulted in a free kick in a dangerous central area about 25 yards out. Lewis Baker stepped up, and his shot took a fairly hefty deflection off the Tigers wall, forcing Matt Ingram to leap to his left to keep it out.
It was a pretty scrappy affair at this point, really. The match desperately needed a shot in the arm – and it soon came, but the Tigers were not to be the beneficiaries.
In the 22nd minute, Jacob Brown had a shot blocked, before another free kick was given about 30 yards out, following Smith’s foul on Jordan Thompson. It looked like a carbon-copy of the previous long-range set-piece. Baker stepped up once more, and he hit a lower shot that, again, took a deflection – but this time, Ingram wasn’t so lucky and couldn’t keep it out.
This did seem to wake City up a bit, though, and they set about hitting straight back. They forced a string of corners, and from one of which Seri cut it back to Regan Slater, in space about 20 yards out – but Slater volleyed it inches wide of the left post. Slater did well a few minutes later to cut inside in the box, visibly directing Elder to thread the ball through to him. His attacking mindset earned him plaudits from the fans who were, as at the last home match, getting rather restless at the general backwards direction.
But just seconds before half-time, things went from bad to worse for City, after a set-piece calamity left them trailing 0-2.
Another Baker free kick, this time from the right, following what many saw as a harsh decision by the referee, was directed at the mass of players around the penalty spot.
Young goalkeepers across the land are told, “If you come out, you’ve got to get the ball…” Ingram came well out – leapt and punched thin air – and didn’t get the ball. Ben Wilmot, on the other hand, did, and his header flew into the gaping net behind Ingram.
Shortly afterwards, the half-time whistle blew, and with it a smattering of boos – as well as more depressing music that seemed to rubber-stamp the grimness of the situation the Tigers were finding themselves in.
Moments after the restart, it really should have been three for Stoke, as the unmarked Smallbone was set free and one-on-one with Ingram. But the City keeper came out, made himself big, and went a little way to redeeming his first-half blunder.
In the 49th minute, Ryan Longman, a half-time substitute for Elder [along with Dimitris Pelkas for Smith], shot well high and wide, as City began to press, winning a couple more corners – but still they weren’t really testing Bursik. Tufan had a go again, but he shot well over from inside the area on the right.
In the 56th minute came the Tigers’ best chance yet, as Óscar, played in by Pelkas, saw his powerful 12-yard drive cannon off the right post. The curse of the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month award, perhaps.
City’s top scorer gestured to the heavens – and, if some divine presence didn’t respond, the City fans did, to their credit. It was perhaps as atmospheric as it had got all match. At this point the Tigers were enjoying nearly 80 per cent of the possession, if not troubling the ‘shots on target’ column too much.
But then, in the 64th minute, came the sucker punch from Stoke, entirely against the run of play, it must be said. A superb bit of passing play between Smallbone, Gayle and Delap found Baker on the edge of the area, and the captain struck a beautiful shot that beat Ingram all ends up.
From then on, the game simply drifted away from City. The final half-hour – including five pointless minutes of added time, garnered very little to write home about, apart from a rifled shot by Longman that Bursik got his fingertips to – but Pelkas put the resulting corner straight out of play, which rather summed everything up.
Empty seats could be seen in the stands long before the whistle blew. It’s still early days yet, of course, but Shota Arveladze’s newly built side needs to start gelling – and stop shipping so many goals – before those huge crowds start diminishing again.