Tigers held by Boro as play-off dream fades

Pictures courtesy of Hull City

Hull City 2 - 2 Middlesbrough

Sky Bet Championship

MKM Stadium

Attendance: 21,943

By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City Correspondent

A hugely entertaining encounter between Hull City and Middlesbrough ended with the result that neither wanted.

It means both sides’ hopes of making the top six now look even further out of reach – yet Boro headed home the happier, snatching a point late on after the Tigers had overturned their early lead.

Yet again, though, City failed to put the game to bed, notching up their eighth home draw. In the majority of these stalemates they have surrendered their lead, and so it would prove again. But a response was needed after the dire performance against Stoke at the MKM Stadium – and a response was what the long-suffering home fans got.

There’s something about matches under the floodlights that seem almost immediately more electric, and from the off, the packed-out away following in the North East corner were in full voice – among the loudest visitors to the MKM this season – which spurred the often quiet home fans into reciprocating.

City made the worst possible start though, going 0-1 down inside the first five minutes – and soon that loud away stand was even louder. Ironically, it came seconds after the Tigers had the ball in Boro’s net.

The flag had long been raised for offside before Jaden Philogene popped it in. But then came disaster as a long ball out of defence found Emmanuel Latte Lath, who squeaked it in from a tight angle near the left post.

For a few minutes the Tigers looked seriously rattled as Boro attacked again and won a corner – but City gradually managed to steady the ship somewhat. They came agonisingly close to an equaliser in the 10th minute when Regan Slater had a shot blocked, before Abdüş Ömür shot wide after an onslaught in the Boro box.

Philogene won City’s first corner in the 17th minute, and it fell to Jean Michael Seri 25 yards out, but he could only float a cross into the hands of keeper Seny Dieng.

As the half wore on, the Tigers began to get it together – raising the tempo as they pressed and pressed, and in the 26th minute a close-range header from Jacob Greaves drew a fantastic save from Dieng. In among all this was the faintest of penalty appeals as Fabio Carvalho went over in the box before the offside flag was raised again as a clutch of City players lurked dangerously near the goal line.

Suddenly the North Stand came alive. The stands were more buzzing than they had been for weeks – and then the atmosphere exploded when City bagged the equaliser they so deserved.

Philogene floated the ball towards the middle of the area from about 18 yards out on the left – and it appeared to be glanced home with the faintest of touches by Ozan Tufan, who wheeled away in celebration. On the stadium PA, the goal was credited to Tufan – but replays, and flash score services elsewhere, suggested that the cross had flown straight through and over Dieng.

Seri sealed the turnaround in the 41st minute, and the manner of its execution was rather delicious, given that the Tigers have been similarly exploited on a few too many occasions. As City are wont to do, Boro attempted to play out from the back – only to see a poor pass from Lewis O’Brien intercepted by the African Cup of Nations winner, who smashed it into the top corner from 12 yards.

The question on most City fans’ lips at half-time was, could they keep this up? Sadly, not really. There were still some great periods of pressure from the Tigers, but they allowed Boro to come back into the game – and they even came dangerously close to taking all three points back to Teesside.

In the 49th minute, Jonny Howson stung the palms of Ryan Allsop – the City keeper parrying it into the path of Latte Lath, but he couldn’t connect.

Seri saw a goalbound shot blocked seconds later, before Regan Slater’s effort was deflected out for a corner.

There was a crucial interception from Greaves in the 51st minute as Lukas Engel advanced into the area on the left, and from the corner Matt Clarke headed straight into the arms of Allsop.

In the 54th minute, applause rang out around the stadium as the home and away fans united to remember long-time City fan and England cricket fanzine editor Andy Clark. Andy, who had travelled the world following his twin passions, died at the weekend, prompting countless heartfelt tributes on social media. (There was even a Sky Sports clip of him expertly catching a ball high up in the crowd during a West Indies Test match.)

As the warm applause continued, the Tigers almost paid the greatest tribute of all when Slater fired about a yard wide of the left post. It only served to elevate the atmosphere inside the stadium; it was crackling, highly charged – a far cry from that of the Stoke match.

As the half wore on, Boro enjoyed a fair bit more possession than City had previously allowed them – a reminder, were it needed, that the Tigers’ lead was but a slender one.

In the 68th minute, Philogene attempted an audacious bicycle kick in the six-yard area which, had it come off, would have had the crowd in raptures – as it was, there was a murmur from the fans that suggested they would rather he’d tried to lamp it home in the conventional manner.

And he really should have done… as moments later, Tyler Morton – faffing around on the edge of the area instead of taking a shot – lost the ball and, in a flash, it was up the other end as Boro went on a surging counterattack. They carved the Tigers open down the middle, and the defence were unable to catch Finn Azaz and Isaiah Jones as they raced forward – first Azaz, then Jones, then back to Azaz who planted it past Allsop from 10 yards. Clinical stuff.

In the 75th minute, Tufan released Ömür through on goal, but Dieng anticipated it and came out well.

As the game reached a frenetic conclusion, Boro were looking the livelier – and more likely to regain the lead. They came very close to doing so in the 85th minute when a cross from Azaz only just evaded Jones near the goal line. Once again, the Tigers had gone from dominant to altogether shaky; frustrating for the home fans – but for the neutral, it was undeniably enthralling.

Inside the three minutes of added time, Philogene was booked for a foul about 25 yards out – and, to the relief of both him and the City fans, Howson’s kick flew straight out of play, though not before coming dangerously close to Latte Lath at the near post.

So, it was another two home points dropped – but there’d be far more to be angry about had City not surrendered their play-offs charge a few matches back. This was, objectively, a cracker of a game.

While there remains the slimmest of chances of making the top six, we can, as the saying goes, still dare to dream. But perhaps we might now be better off dreaming about what next season might bring…