The Tigers roared back to claim a huge win on the road
Sergej Jakirovic has revealed he told his Hull City players that they may as well go home at half-time of their 2-1 win at Stoke City, if they didn’t improve in the second half.
City were awful in the opening 45 minutes but were fortunately only a goal down to Sorba Thomas’ stunning volley after 17 minutes, but Jakirovic’s men recovered in the second half and were vastly improved to turn an absorbing contest on its head.
The introduction of Mo Belloumi and Kyle Joseph at the start of the second half breathed new life into the away side, and they were level three minutes into it when Semi Ajayi headed in after Joe Gelhardt’s volley hit Belloumi and dropped into the path of the Nigerian.
As it looked to be heading for what would have been considered a good away point, Matt Crooks won the ball and fed Belloumi to surge forward and slide in Gelhardt to fire in the winner in the 90th minute.
“This is not for the public,” Jakirovic told Hull Live when asked what his half-time message was. “That must stay in the dressing room, but it was a nice chat. I was not angry or disappointed. If we continue to play like this, we can go home immediately because Stoke City were much better than we were. I just prayed that we are going into half-time just 1-0 behind.
“We didn’t control anything, in possession, out of possession, nothing. They were much better, and at half-time we agreed that we must be on the front foot, compact, vertical. I think that we got this especially through Belloumi and Kyle.
“We had much more pressure on the ball, on the players around the ball and behind; we controlled everything. We didn’t allow so much space like in the first half. We played completely wrong to what we agreed before the game, completely wrong.
“Our idea was that we are 4-1, 4-1, especially in the middle block, that we are trying to direct them on one side and then try to press. Especially their number 10 (Million Manhoef), he’s very dangerous between the lines. We need to control these areas. Both wingers are great players (Thomas and Manhoef). We stopped them in the second half. This is maybe a crucial moment.
“Of course, the equalising goal at 1-1, it’s a big boost for us because you see, you can punish them, they’re also human beings, and then the game was 50/50 at that point.
“They had two great chances, but we had John Egan and Lewie Coyle make fantastic blocks; they saved us two times.
“We were much more vertical in the second half. We had speed in front. We saw that we can punish them through counterattacks. In the end, we stole one ball, a great pass from Mo Belloumi. He gave the ball to Joe Gelhardt, and in this situation, he scored.”
Jakirovic was also frustrated that the side was not awarded a first-half penalty for a clear foul inside the box on Matt Crooks, with referee Leigh Doughty waving away the protests when the score was 0-0.
“There was a big intensity in the game. We are complaining, Stoke City are complaining, this is normal, but I just want to say that he (referee) should have whistled for a penalty inside 10 minutes.
“What I saw on the tablet is a clear penalty. I respect his decision. I have already seen five or six situations where it’s a penalty (in previous games). After eighteen rounds, we didn’t have any penalties yet, and we are in the box.”
The end of the game was marred by a fracas involving both squads and the coaching staff, with referee Leigh Doughty flashing his card to a host of players amid ugly scenes.
“I didn’t see that because I spoke with the Stoke City gaffer. Then he showed me, and then I looked around and saw 50 people together.
“I don’t know what happened, but we all tried to split the players to go in peace, but also for me, this is part of football.”
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