City were well beaten in the East Yorkshire rain on a desperate Friday night
Hull City skipper Lewie Coyle believes Friday’s 4-1 crushing by Middlesbrough has to be a turning point in the Tigers’ season, as they look to halt the worrying flow of goals in their own net.
City were 4-0 down at the break after a hopeless first half saw them gift a fluid Boro side an easy three points, to take the tally of goals conceded to 34 in just 19 games.
Coyle admits the costly errors have been an ongoing problem throughout the campaign, with only bottom-side Sheffield Wednesday conceding more than the Tigers, saying it has to be addressed after they missed the chance to move third in the Championship, albeit for 24 hours.
“When you come up against the top side, and you give that many chances up that they’re going to punish you,” he told Hull Live. “They were very clinical in the chances we gave up, but that’s been a common theme as of late; we’re giving up far too many chances. That’s something that needs addressing moving forward.
“We got punished. They were very clinical, and you just can’t start games like that. You give yourself a mountain to climb, and again, especially against a good side to try and then get back in it, to be 4-0 down at half-time, you’ve put yourself in the deep end for sure.
“I think if you try and flip and somehow use it as a positive. We feel the hurt, the disappointment of it all right now. In a few days, when we pick the bones out of it and have a look at it, I think we need to use this as a moment where we say, ‘We can’t give up that many chances, especially in the first half of games. We have to be a much more complete side over 90 minutes to have a chance of competing in this division over the 46 games.”
Despite being thrashed and seeing many fans leave early, City improved in the second period and at least got on the scoresheet with Joe Gelhardt winning and converting the Tigers’ first penalty of the season to at least restore some pride.
“Four-nil down, it can go one way or the other. That’s never been in question, what’s inside the dressing room in terms of the character, so I knew there’d be a positive reaction.
“The game’s four-nil, we get the goal, and you give yourself a very, very, very, very, very slim chance of getting back in the game. The lads showed what I know is inside the dressing room, showed character, and got the goal. They’re in cruise control, they’re going to take more risks, they’re going to probably end up being a little bit sloppy because they are so comfortable, four-nil up, but props to them. They are a top side. It’s a bad, bad night at the office for us, and something that we’re going to have to learn from quickly.”
Attention for City now turns to the visit of Wrexham on Wednesday night, followed by the trip to another of the play-off contenders in Millwall next weekend.
Despite this defeat, their fourth in the last six games, they remain in a strong position going into the festive period, something the skipper is determined to take advantage of.
“That’s the beauty of this league,” he continued. “We’ve got two games coming up now, midweek and then Saturday, so again, there are always chances, especially this time of year, to put it right, and hopefully get back on a decent run of form.
“Massive (chance). That’s the message in the dressing room. These things happen. It’s a very bad night at the office, not just a bad night at the office, but it’s one game of football we’ve lost, that’s going to happen this year. Obviously, we don’t want it to happen in the manner in which it did, but we’re going to lose games of football. Over the course of the season, we’re still in a healthy position, and we need to kick on again.”
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