Ozan the hat-trick hero as Tigers maul Owls in six-goal thriller
UNSTOPPABLE: Ozan Tufan, right, has his shirt pulled by a delighted Jean Michaël Seri after bagging a stunning hat-trick in a six-goal thriller against Sheffield Wednesday. Pictures courtesy of Hull City
Hull City 4 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday
Championship
MKM Stadium
Attendance: 20,410
By Jack Harrison
Ozan Tufan scored his first ever hat-trick as Hull City bounced back from two defeats to pick up their first points of the season in a thrilling 4-2 thrashing of Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
The match started slowly, with a lengthy delay caused by a clash of heads between two Wednesday players in the City area preventing either side from getting into their rhythm.
The first chance came in the ninth minute when the energetic Regan Slater dispossessed Barry Bannan about 30 yards from goal and drove into the penalty area, but he was tackled from behind just as he was about to pull the trigger. This was followed by an initial cheer from the City fans who thought that they had seen their side go ahead, only to find that the ball had nestled in the wrong side of the net.
The following corner was cleared, and Slater again found himself with the ball 25 yards out, but this time drilled a low shot which was comfortably saved by Devis Vasquez.
The Tigers were looking comfortable in possession, with the visitors happy to sit back in two banks of four with Lee Gregory and Josh Windass, son of Tigers legend Dean, leading the line.
In the 15th minute, Matt Ingram got a bit too relaxed and smashed a clearance into Gregory after taking too long on the ball. The deflection could have gone anywhere, but thankfully Ingram’s blushes were spared.
Jacob Greaves was moved out to left-back for the afternoon due to the absence of Rúben Vinagre, and his bouncing cross in the 21st minute was met with a clever flick at the front post from Ozan, but nobody could convert at the back post.
With Greaves being more comfortable at centre-back, he was playing a bit deeper which provided Lewie Coyle with the freedom to attack down the opposite flank. Adama Traore didn’t see much of the ball in the first half because he was drifting inside to open the space for the marauding Coyle.
The City skipper was a constant outlet down the right, and in the 31st minute, he played in a low cross which was just behind Liam Delap. The Manchester City loanee stuck out a leg but the cross was just too quick.
At this point, there was only one team trying to win the game and the Tigers were pushing hard for the opener, but in the 36th minute they switched off momentarily.
Callum Patterson took a quick free-kick from the right-hand side and played a ball down the line to the on-rushing Dominic Iorfa, who had time to pick out a cross which was converted by Juan Delgado at the front post via a deflection.
The goal came completely against the run of play but emphasised the importance of taking your chances at one end and not switching off at the other.
Nonetheless, City pressed on in the hunt for an equaliser and almost found it straight away when Delap’s cutback was deflected onto the post.
Just a few moments later, the young striker was brought down in the area, but the referee waved away the penalty claim. The ball then went through to Jason Lokilo at the back post who volleyed over.
Delap was in the thick of the action at the end of the first half and in the 43rd minute he almost met Coyle’s low cross, but Vasquez was out quickly to smother it.
Just before the break, the Tigers were handed the chance to draw level from the spot when Greaves seemed to receive an elbow to the face in the box while challenging a looping Lokilo cross. Ozan stepped up to take it and buried the penalty low and hard into the bottom left corner.
The Tigers went in level at the break but really should have been ahead.
There were no changes in personnel in the second-half but there was a switch in formation. City boss Liam Rosenior switched to a back three, with Lokilo and Coyle holding the width and Ozan and Traore playing off Delap.
The Tigers picked up where they left off, applying almost constant pressure and passing the ball around nicely.
In the 58th minute, they finally took the lead after a moment of brilliance from their Turkish talisman. Ozan picked up the ball 25 yards out and unleashed a stunning effort into the top right corner. Even if you put two 'keepers in the Owl's goal, there was no stopping that.
Just a few minutes later, the on-fire Ozan tried his luck again in the hunt for his third, but his effort went behind for a corner.
The midfielder didn’t have to wait too much longer to reach his milestone. Traore produced some neat play on the right and laid it off to Ozan who produced a deadly finish from just inside the area to put City 3-1 up.
He was substituted eight minutes later to a standing ovation from all four sides of the MKM Stadium. Everyone will remember his hat-trick, but his overall play was superb and he continuously found Coyle on the right with pinpoint cross-field passes.
In the 85th minute, Ozan’s replacement put the result beyond doubt, as Aaron Connolly pounced on a loose pass back to the goalkeeper from Michael Ihiekwe and stroked the ball into an empty net for his first goal since his return to the club.
Despite the comfortable lead, the Tigers were hungry for more and continued to attack. Vasquez was called into action again in the 92nd minute when Traore’s in swinging free-kick from a tight angle was tipped over as it looked destined for the far corner.
Connolly then tried his luck from the edge of the area which again tested the ever-busy Vasquez, who managed to keep it out.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Owl’s substitute Michael Smith went through on goal and slotted home past Ingram in the 94th minute for what proved to be a consolation.
A dazzling and entertaining performance from the Tigers produced a much-needed victory, and with “exciting” new signings on the horizon, the pre-season optimism that was slightly dampened by two defeats has been restored.
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