The forward netted for the second consecutive game
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic joked that he should start Oli McBurnie on the bench in every match after the striker came on to score his second goal in as many games in their 3-1 win at Millwall.
McBurnie replaced Liam Millar in the second half at The Den and headed in City‘s third goal to ensure there was to be no late drama after the hosts pulled a goal back following Femi Azeez’s sending off with 14 minutes to go.
The Scotland international’s near-post header from Lewie Coyle’s cross added to a terrific brace inside the opening 13 minutes from Kyle Joseph, which gave the Tigers a deserved away win, keeping them firmly entrenched inside the top six.
It’s the second time in as many games McBurnie has bagged off the bench, having done so within four minutes of making his long-awaited comeback from injury to score the second in the 2-0 win over Wrexham on Wednesday night.
“Maybe it’s the best option is that Oli starts from the bench every game,” the Croatian joked in conversation with Hull Live in South London.
When asked if he’d told the forward that, and if so, what McBurnie’s response was, Jakirovic went on to say: “Yeah, of course. He said nothing. He started to laugh, but why are you laughing?”
City want to tread carefully with McBurnie after he missed nine games with a calf problem, and those particular injuries have already seen John Lundstram miss a chunk of the campaign, and now Joe Gelhardt is sidelined with a similar issue.
“With Oli, I’ve told you already, we need to be very careful because it’s a calf injury. We have already had experience with that, but this is good.
“Joe Gelhardt is not with us now, and this is a team effort. Every game, somebody new steps up to the task, and this is very good for us.”
Given Joseph now has three in his last two games, the need to rush McBurnie back in from the start is less important, giving Jakirovic time to bed the 29-year-old back in gradually, especially with Millar and Mo Belloumi back fit.
“Of course (it’s good that Joseph is scoring). Kyle can also play as a winger. We have Joel Ndala, Liam Millar, and it depends on our tactical plan, and what we choose to do, but it’s great to have them all.”
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