City’s unbeaten run was ended at the MKM Stadium by a Bristol City side beaten 5-0 in their last league outing
Bristol City’s Emil Riis Jacobsen celebrates with teammates after scoring their side’s third goal of the game during the Sky Bet Championship match at the MKM Stadium, Kingston upon Hull. Picture date: Saturday February 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Nigel French/PA Wire.
(Image: PA)
Hull City slumped to a 3-2 home defeat to Bristol City on Saturday, which ended their five-game unbeaten run despite taking a first half lead through Oli McBurnie’s 12th goal of the season.
Two goals in six minutes before the break turned the game on its head for Gerhard Struber’s side, who responded well to that setback, and the game was taken further away from the beleaguered hosts at the start of the second half.
Kieran Dowell came off the bench to score late on and threaten a grandstand finish, but it wasn’t to be, as Sergej Jakirovic’s men missed the chance to take advantage of leaders Coventry City dropping points at home to Oxford United.
Not a time to panic
City have dropped points in their last two games, and that’s hugely disappointing, of course. They haven’t played particularly well, and with two home games, fans would have expected more than a return of just one point.
After three poor performances in the space of a week, City have taken four points and remain seven points clear of the chasing play-off pack.
They were always going to lose games, it’s frustrating of course, but perspective is required and there’s a long way to go. They’re a team that hasn’t really had a blip this season, and if this is it, then it’s now about responding.
It didn’t work
Jakirovic has been keen to try and find a way to solve the issues he’s encountered in recent games, with the lack of control in midfield and ball retention a real issue.
To try and give his side more control and get more support to Oli McBurnie, he went with a 3-5-2, but it didn’t work. Previously when he tried Kyle Joseph up with McBurnie it didn’t come off, and that happened again.
Moreover, in transition the visitors were creating all sorts of problems just as they did at Ashton Gate and in truth there was no answer.
A tad unfortunate
While most would have looked at home games against Watford and Bristol City as a good chance to add to the tally of four successive wins, both came with something to prove and made it really difficult.
Watford had been on a poor run and just lost their manager, while the Robins were smarting after being thumped 5-0 on their home ground a week earlier.
Though City didn’t do enough in either game, they came up against resilient opponents with something to prove and they just were not good enough to overcome those challenges.
The Missing Tree
This was another example of how influential Matt Crooks is to this side. Crooks helps oil City’s machine; he keeps things ticking over and is such a vital part of the team.
It’s perhaps no coincidence that since he’s been out of the team, Jakirovic’s side have delivered three of their poorest performances of the season.
His return at the start of next month can’t come soon enough, but, in his absence, others need to be better and perform at a higher level because in the last three, that midfield unit has not delivered.
All eyes on Chelsea
Championship football now takes a break for the Tigers as attention turns to Friday night’s big showdown at the MKM Stadium against Liam Rosenior and his Chelsea side.
Over the next few days, City’s training ground and the stadium will become something of a media circus as the world’s press descend on East Yorkshire for a big FA Cup showdown.
Given the relentless nature of the Championship and the quest for points, having a week without it won’t do the Tigers’ players any harm, and they can look forward to what will be a great occasion under the lights and an even bigger opportunity to do something special.
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