City failed to beat the league’s bottom side in a four-goal Yorkshire derby
Hull City were held to a disappointing 2-2 draw by struggling Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day, after twice coming from behind to salvage a point at Hillsborough.
A desperately poor opening half was summed up by a long punt from goalkeeper Pierce Charles, finding Svante Ingelsson, who the Tigers were making look like prime Andrea Pirlo.
City finally clicked into gear shortly before the break when Matt Crooks fizzed into the feet of Mo Belloumi, who stepped past his man and found the back of the net with a clinical finish.
Wednesday were back front on the hour when Bailey Cadamarteri took advantage of some awful defending to finish, but Matt Crooks pulled the Tigers level within five minutes.
Here’s how Tigers reporter Barry Cooper rated the players in the Steel City on Boxing Day afternoon…
Ivor Pandur: Had almost nothing to do aside from pick the ball out of his net. Didn’t cover himself in any kind of glory with the two goals. 6/10
Ryan Giles: In what was a really poor performance from the Tigers, Giles was one of their better performers. Got forward as much as he could. 6.5/10
Charlie Hughes: Started really well before somehow allowing Ingelsson to run behind him and score. A very up and down performance. 6/10
John Egan: Important block inside the opening 10 minutes to stop Jamal Lowe’s effort, but was then booked for a daft foul on his opponent in the middle of the park. Perhaps luck to avoid a second yellow and was taken off at half-time. 5/10
Lewie Coyle: Struggled all afternoon, and did not look at all comfortable, though he wasn’t the only one. Improved after the break and got forward well. 6/10
Regan Slater: One of the better performers in a largely turgid first half. Improved in the second half with City injecting some life into their display. 6/10
Amir Hadziahmetovic: Poor in the first half as City struggled to string two passes together. Had a bit more control in the second half, before being withdrawn. 5/10
Matt Crooks: Slow start, was booked for a foul but claimed an assist when he fired into Belloumi’s feet for the equaliser. Scored City’s second equaliser with a clever strike at the near post. 7/10
Liam Millar: Not really involved in the first half until he scored at the end of it, which was disallowed. Withdrawn in the second half after a quiet outing. 5/10
Mo Belloumi: Scored a terrific equaliser with a deft drop of the shoulder and fizzing finish, shortly after Liam Cooper cleared his shot off the line. Had to be replaced in the closing stages with what looked like a hamstring issue. 7/10
Oli McBurnie: Had a header which drifted just wide in a half where he had little service. Could have had a penalty early in the second half, before he saw a header saved, moments after being booked. 6/10
Subs:
Akin Famewo (for Egan 46): Aside from the concession of the second goal, he was decent enough in what was, by his standards, a very long runout. 6/10
Kyle Joseph (for Millar 68): Aside from one moment when Crooks fed him inside the box, he didn’t really have a sniff after coming on. Shot wide in added time under heavy pressure. 6/10
Darko Gyabi (for Amir 68): Didn’t see a huge amount of the ball after coming off the bench. Tremendous tackle deep in added time to help his side. 6/10
David Akintola (for Belloumi 73): Booked for a foul and was then cleaned out by Harry Amass with no yellow card for the Owls man. Wayward shot in the final moments. 5/10
Enis Destan (for Crooks 82): Headed over in stoppage time as City pushed valiantly for a winning goal. 5/10
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