City claimed a third away win with a dramatic success in the Potteries
Hull City produced a terrific fightback to come from a goal down and beat Stoke City 2-1 at the bet36 Stadium in a game that was turned on its head at half-time.
A tepid first half from City saw them a goal down courtesy of Sorba Thomas’ stunning volley, but changes at the break from Sergej Jakirovic saw Semi Ajayi equalise three minutes into the second period before Joe Gelhardt sealed three points in the 90th minute.
It’s the perfect return to winning ways from the Tigers after suffering successive defeats and moves them back up to seventh in the Championship, just a point outside the top six, as attention now turns to Friday night’s showdown with Middlesbrough at the MKM Stadium.
Here, Tigers reporter Barry Cooper looks back on a dramatic away win…
A stirring fightback
For 45 minutes, City produced another desperately poor display, with the only saving grace being the fact they were only a goal down, and not dead and buried.
Credit to the manager for making changes, and to the players for improving, because the second half was a contest unlike the first. Getting that early goal was crucial, and it gave them a platform to play with more control, helped by Matt Crooks dropping deeper into midfield and Mo Belloumi and Kyle Joseph helping them play further up the pitch.
A point would have been a tremendous return after the first half display, but to go on and win the game shows that this squad have got something special in their ranks, coupled with a manager not afraid to change it when it’s not working.
Joff’s delight
The diminutive forward was at it again. He should have won a penalty in the first half when he robbed his man of the ball before surging forward and sliding in Matt Crooks, who was fouled, though nothing was given.
Gelhardt kept plugging away and got his reward in the final minute or normal time when he latched onto Mo Bellloumi’s fine pass to slot in the winning goal.
It would have been easy to snatch at the chance, but his clinical finish into the back of the net showed just what confidence he’s playing with, and why he’s now got nine goals to his name, including seven goals in his last nine displays.
Strength in depth
City’s squad on Tuesday night was lacking numbers and quality with all the players missing, and it was evident when Kieran McKenna could make changes to win the game, and Sergej Jakirovic could not.
While the Tigers were without Charlie Hughes, the Croatian was able to call upon John Egan to replace him but it was further up the pitch where there was a change.
Matt Crooks was back from suspension and John Lundstram was available again after nine weeks out, so when Jakirovic turned to his bench, he had Mo Belloumi, Kyle Joseph and Lundstram who could impact the game in a positive way. Akin Famewo also did a job when he came on.
We’ve said for weeks that if City are to have a genuine chance this season, they need to have their key men available and the picture was a little rosier on Saturday, and will hopefully continue to improve.
Sorba Thomas
The winger was extremely close to joining City back in January after the Tigers had agreed a fee with Huddersfield Town, but Ruben Selles opted to sign Louie Barry instead and the Welsh international remained on loan at Nantes.
This season, however, Thomas has been in fine form and bagged two goals on Tuesday night in a 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic, before rattling in a stunning opener against the Tigers, and came close to a curling second, only to be met by the diving hand of Ivor Pandur.
Given how Barry’s loan spell turned out, and the repercussions in the summer of that deal with Aston Villa, there’s probably one or two within the Tigers’ hierarchy that wish they’d have got a deal done for Thomas, and he showed why he was a man they were keen to sign.
Refereeing standards – or lack of
From pretty much the start of the game, Leigh Doughty delivered a shoddy display. Originally, the game was scheduled to be officiated by Josh Smith, but for whatever reason, it was changed to Doughty, and he probably wishes he’d have stayed at home.
Ten minutes in, he aggressively waved away a clear penalty for City after a foul on Matt Crooks inside the box, suggesting Ashley Phillips got the ball when he was nowhere near it, and it didn’t get much better. His display throughout contributed to the undertones of annoyance throughout the game from both benches. In fairness to him, he wasn’t helped by his assistants, either.
Clearly, the post-match scenes were ugly, and both clubs will be fined for a lot of pushing, shoving and not much else, but it’s hard to escape the fact that the referee’s lack of control throughout contributed.
The return should be fun
Those post-match scenes should ensure the rematch between these two clubs will be one to keep an eye on, and we’ve not got long to wait.
City welcome Stoke to the MKM Stadium on New Year’s Day in what will be quite a game to kick off 2026, when no doubt this game will still be fresh in the minds of everybody involved.
No doubt, similar to the win at Birmingham City back in October, both clubs will be charged by the FA for failing to control their players ahead of any further punishment.
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