City’s mini slump continued at one of their bogey grounds on Saturday
Barry is the Hull City correspondent, and previously covered Nottingham Forest for the Nottingham Post/Nottinghamshire Live. Barry has reported on Hull City’s League One title success and Championship campaigns
Hull City scored the first and last goals of a pulsating contest against Bristol City on Saturday, but conceded four in between to lose 4-2.
A defensive disaster class at Ashton Gate saw Joe Gelhardt’s third-minute strike cancelled out through two Emil Riis goals either side of Anis Mehmeti turning in from close range.
Max Bird crashed in off the post in the final stages before Kyle Joseph netted in added time to reduce the arrears and get himself off the mark at City. Boss Sergej Jakirovic bemoaned the performance after the game in a brutally honest assessment, and had his say on the transfer window.
Here, Tigers reporter Barry Cooper reflects on a sodden afternoon in the West Country.
A wild contest
Almost 50 chances were created by both sides with 20 of the 49 coming from the away team. Throughout a chaotic contest that never paused for breath, from the moment, Joe Gelhardt opened the scoring and Kyle Joseph finished it off.
The problem was, City conceded 29 of those and while the Tigers hit the target more than their hosts, Gerhard Struber’s side were far more clincal and took the game away.
Despite that, City had plenty of chances in the second half and had Oli McBurnie found the net at 3-1 things could have been a little different. While there are major concerns about the defensive side of the team, going forward they look very good.
Dave’s delight
Naturally, there’s been some degree of scepticism about David Akintola’s arrival from the Turkish Super Lig given the failure of the majority of imports so far, but he’s looked bright.
Once he’s grasped the offside rule, he could be a real threat. All afternoon he was confident, keen to get on the ball and play forward. His clever through pass for Joe Gelhardt was superb, and his direct run and cross in the second half which created an openig for Kyle Joseph showed real quality and intent.
When Mohamed Belloumi and Liam Millar are fully fit, he may well struggle to play regularly but he looks capable of being an option off the bench, or to drop in when needed.
Defensive horrors
Since Semi Ajayi has been absent, City have shipped 12 goals in the four games and they could have conceded even more. Look, any trip to Bristol City these days is a tough assignment, but to allow 29 attempts on your goal is criminal and you’re going to be punished.
The manner of the three goals in the first half was embarrassing. The lack of intensity in tracking runners, stopping crosses, defending your back post and marking players a yard out.
Bristol City’s third was inexplicable and you just wonder how much the recent speculation has had an impact on Charlie Hughes. Players can make mistakes, but that error was something we just don’t see from a player of his quality.
Jakirovic has got to get this sorted over the break because it’s not sustainable. Attacking-wise, they looked fantastic and fashioned some wonderful chances, but you cannot be conceding threes and fours and hope to have a hope in hell of winning games of football.
The end is nigh
That’s it now, the football is over, well, for the next couple of weeks at least. Attention now turns to the final hours of the transfer window.
In case you were not aware, the window shuts at 7pm on Monday night and no doubt, there will be plenty of speculation and maybe, even a little bit of movement both in and out of the MKM Stadium in the final hours.
City will be working hard to try and conjure up some final magic in the remaining hours but, as we know, that is fraught with challenges because of their restrictions. What we can say is that everybody will be relieved once the window is closed, and this difficult chapter can be closed, for now and the dressing room can focus on what’s ahead.
Kyle’s off and running
It’s disappointing for Kyle Joseph that his first City goal came on a day where the Tigers were on the wrong end of a result like that, but it was a well taken goal and hopefully, it can be the springboard for him.
City cannot afford to rely on Oli McBurnie. At some point, he may well get suspended or pick up an injury and Joseph will be needed to lead the line, so to have that monkey off his back is hugely important.
Joseph’s a really positive character, and it’s not been easy for him since arriving in January, so getting off the mark was one of the bright spots on an otherwise disappointing day.
A welcome break
The first international break is coming at a good time for City. It gives everybody a chance to pause for breath after what has been a manic summer. Even just having a few days away from the training ground will be important.
Crucially, it will also give those players with fitness concerns chance to recover and be ready for Swansea away in the first game back, or take a big chunk out of their rehab period.
Semi Ajayi and Matt Crooks will be closer, Enis Destan may finally be seen in a City shirt and Akin Famewo should be back to fitness to bolster the defensive ranks. There’s also the expectation that we’ll see Liam Millar for the first time in 11 months, which will be a huge step forward.
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