City end losing streak in Sellés’ first game in charge
Pictures courtesy of Hull City
Hull City 1 - 1 Watford
Sky Bet Championship
MKM Stadium
Attendance: 18,694
By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City Correspondent
The Tigers ended their six-game losing streak in the first match of the new Rubén Sellés era, coming away with what was a creditable 1-1 draw despite a late equaliser dashing fans’ dreams of a first home win in more than two months.
Sellés made two changes from the 0-1 defeat by Blackburn on Saturday, with João Pedro and Steven Alzate starting ahead of Chris Bedia and Gustavo Puerta.
The first half was, by and large, pretty pedestrian on both sides, but in just the second minute Ryan Longman found himself in a great position to put the Tigers ahead.
From a Watford free kick, City’s clearance completely switched the play as it fell to Kasey Palmer, who threaded a ball through to Abu Kamara. Racing down the left, Kamara squared the ball to Longman a few yards out in the centre of the box – but he could only skew it wide.
In the ninth minute, a ball from Jeremy Ngakia cannoned off Ryan Giles – and for a few nanoseconds it felt like shades of Sean McLoughlin’s own goal against Blackburn as it could have deflected anywhere – but out it went, and nothing came of the resulting corner.
Watford were just shading the early stages as Vakoun Bayo headed wide of the far post in the 12th minute. The Tigers were finding it tricky to get the ball into Watford’s half, and there was little of note to warm up the crowd.
In the 19th minute, the lively Giorgi Chakvetadze blazed well over, but a few minutes later at the other end came the Tigers’ best chance thus far as a long cross in from the right by Kamara almost looked as though it was going to drift straight in. At the far post, Longman just couldn’t get on the end of it.
In the 26th minute, Giles hit a low 25-yard shot straight at Daniel Bachmann, but there was little power on it and the keeper collected easily.
A squaring-up between Palmer and Imrân Louza 10 minutes later spiced matters up slightly (though that wasn’t saying much), earning them both a booking.
Five minutes before the break, the tempo was raised as City went on the attack. Pedro saw a shot blocked in the area before a floating cross in from the left by Giles evaded everyone.
Then a foul on Palmer by Ngakia resulted in a free kick on the left, which Palmer took – but it was headed away at the near post and soon cleared.
Moments before the half ended, a shot from Bayo went just wide.
For the first five minutes of the second half, the Tigers could barely get hold of the ball as Watford went on the attack straight from the off. In the 50th minute, a corner by Chakvetadze was cleared at the near post. The Georgian then won the ball back and curled a lovely shot from the edge of the area went just over.
It was a let-off for City, but they came close too, moments later. Regan Slater did well to hold up the ball in the six-yard area and play in Longman, but yet again he was unable to connect with it. If he had, it would have been an easy one to poke home.
This seemed to fire the Tigers up a bit and they pressed forward again with a great ball from Longman down the left to Giles, but the latter’s cross into the box was poor.
After Watford surrendered possession in midfield, Palmer played in Pedro, who raced clear down the right. With no one else around, he took it on himself from a fairly acute angle. Bachmann seemed to have got a fingertip to the shot, which went wide of the left post, but no corner was given – to the anger of fans in the South Stand behind the goal.
At last, things were starting to liven up – there’d been more action in the opening 10 minutes of the second half than in the entire first period.
There was more good pressure by the Tigers just after the hour mark, the best of the chances falling to Longman, but he could only head tamely into the arms of Bachmann from a few yards out. As ever, though, they were misfiring – with crosses going in front or behind their intended targets, players not being able to get the ball out from under their feet… the lack of quality and cohesion in that final third was painfully evident.
Sellés made his first substitutions in the 68th minute, with Longman replaced by Mason Burstow, and Marvin Mehlem coming on for Alzate.
Burstow – up to this point the only City player to score in the past five matches – nearly made an instant impact, forcing a good save from Bachmann from about 10 yards out.
In the 73rd minute, Chris Bedia replaced Pedro as a fine drizzle began to descend on the stadium once more. Four minutes later, a good effort from Kamara was deflected wide.
Ten minutes before time came that rare, rare thing – a goal at home, something not seen since November 10 – and at last, luck was on City’s side.
Kamara’s ball in from the right-hand side of the box took a big deflection and then another off Mehlem as it was somehow bundled in. Chris Bedia emerged, arms aloft, claiming the goal, and indeed he did get the final touch. Did it come off his side, or his arm? Do we care?
The home fans gleefully crowed: “How **** must you be, we’re winning at home…”
But, alas, the Tigers weren’t winning for long. Two minutes from time, Watford got the equaliser, and it was a goal crafted entirely by two substitutes.
Kwadwo Baah made a storming run down the right, completely unchallenged, and cut the ball back perfectly for the arriving Rocco Vata, who made no mistake in planting a right-foot shot past Pandur from eight yards.
It was a punch in the guts for a Tigers side still languishing at the bottom of the Championship and for home fans aching to celebrate a win. But Rome – or indeed Madrid – wasn’t built in a day, and even in this first game under Sellés the improvements were clear to see.
A lot of it is about confidence and mentality, and this is where changes can be made quite rapidly. It may take more time for the rest to follow, and bringing in additional firepower is surely a given – but while there is a long, long way to go, it’s nice to feel positive about City, isn’t it?
