The striker bagged two goals in seven minutes to earn a big win on the road
Kyle Joseph admits the first 15 minutes at Millwall felt like the closing stages of the game, in what was a chaotic opening in South London.
The Hull City striker took has tally to six for the season with two goals in the opening 13 minutes at The Den, his second and third in the past two games after converting crosses from Mo Belloumi and Liam Millar.
Both those goals came after Alex Neil’s men started the game in thrilling fashion, forcing Ivor Pandur to make two fine saves to keep the scoreline goalless.
City then found themselves pegged back with 10 minutes to go, shortly after Femi Azeez was sent off for kicking out at Joseph, before Oli McBurnie stepped off the bench for the second successive game to score and seal a 3-1 win.
“It’s an amazing win. To come somewhere like Millwall, you know how hostile it’s going to be. It’s an amazing win, three points, and we’re all buzzing,” an in-form Joseph told Hull Live.
“It was a crazy, crazy start. It genuinely felt like it was the last minute of the game. They’ve thrown everyone forward; it just felt weird.
“After the first five minutes, I think after we got the first goal, we really settled ourselves, and I think we grew into the game, got the second goal, and then we just controlled the game from there and dominated.
“We won our duels, we knew what it’s like when you come to Millwall away, you’ve got to fight, you’ve got to win your battles, and I think we’ve done the ugly side of the game well. It was a brilliant win for us.”
Joseph was involved in a big flashpoint with 14 minutes left, when he raced back to win the ball off Azeez, who then tangled with the City ace, before lashing out. Referee Gavin Ward gave the Lions’ man a straight red card, before booking Alex Neil who had protested at the decision.
The striker, though, says Ward got the decision absolutely spot on, before going on to praise the recovery from conceding, to kill the game off two minutes from time.
“I’ve come back, made a tackle on the lad, I know we’ve just tangled legs, and I fell on top of him, and then we’ve both been caught with each other. I’ve left it to let him get up first, but then I think as he’s got up, he’s lashed out at me.
“He’s stamped on me where no one wants to get stamped. I’m not one to fake an injury, I’m not one to stay down, but yeah, it was a painful one, and I think the referee made the right decision to send him off.
“The red card’s probably galvanised them a bit, and then it’s always difficult playing against 10 men, and then when they score (it gets harder), but I think the reaction of the lads when they scored was massive for us.
“You could see we were cheering each other up, trying to bring each other back up, and I think that really helped us to go on and get the third goal and secure it.
“Once you get that third goal, yeah, it kills all their momentum again. The crowd got them going, probably gave them that extra bit of energy and that little bit of spark, but then I think we controlled the game again.
“We played around them, and then we got into good areas, and it’s unbelievable from ‘Skip’ (Coyle’s cross), and then Oli (McBurnie) just does what Oli does best and finds the net.”
The post-match scenes were memorable with the players and staff celebrating in almost 1,400 away fans who had made the long journey down from East Yorkshire.
“It’s a long way to come,” Joseph said. “We appreciate them so much, and I think, you see, at the end, the memories and the moments we’ll have with each other. It’s such an amazing moment for all of us as players and fans.”
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service.
Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.