City head to South East London for a one-game shoot-out for a place at Wembley
Hull City’s Mohamed Belloumi (right) reacts after seeing his early effort hit the post(Image: Richard Sellers/PA Wire/PA Images)
Former Millwall manager Gary Rowett says Hull City need to find a way of utilising their wingers more, if they’re to enjoy second leg success at The Den on Monday night.
Both sides played out a goalless draw at a sold-out MKM Stadium on Monday night, and they’ll do it all again in Bermondsey for a place in the Championship play-off final at Wembley later this month.
City‘s best chance arguably came inside two minutes when Mo Belloumi rampaged forward, twisting and turning inside the box before seeing his effort glance off the outside of Anthony Patterson’s post.
Sergej Jakirovic’s men struggled to get Belloumi and Liam Millar into the game as it wore on, which left the Croatian head coach frustrated.
When the Tigers won 3-1 at The Den in December, Millar and Belloumi were huge threats and caused Millwall all sorts of problems, and Rowett believes that’s where City need to improve on Monday.
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“In retrospect, they didn’t create that many other chances, but he (Belloumi) was certainly bright early on. He’s a really talented player, and you can see it in this moment, his balance, his composure, just that final touch. We could have said that about so many moments of the evening.” Rowett said on Sky Sports.
“I think these little moments when it ends up wide, they didn’t get the ball wide enough again, it’s just that little moment we spoke about, when he eventually chops Crama off, and it’s inside. Could he find the roof of the net, maybe aim a little bit higher, there’s nothing else in the box for him, he has to shoot.
“Hull needed to do that more, didn’t they? Their strength is getting the ball wide and getting quick crosses into the box early for McBurnie. He’s such a danger in those moments, but I would say Millwall really quelled that threat.
“They didn’t give the wingers too much. Both of them ended up getting substituted. I think they’ll need a little bit more from the two wingers in the second leg.”
The Den will be a complete sell-out on Monday evening, with City backed by their own sold-out contingent, but they’ll arrive confident having already won 3-1 before Christmas, something Rowett believes will give Sergej Jakirovic’s men added confidence.
“Oh, incredibly tough,” he said of what will be lying in wait for the visitors. “The atmosphere’s going to be electric. It is a tough place to go and play. In fairness to Hull, they have gone there this season and won already, so maybe that gives them a little bit of extra confidence.
“And it’s only a tough place to play if you’re on top and you’re playing well, but I thought you just maybe saw the team that finished third against a team that just got into the play-offs, and that’s not being disrespectful.
“I thought they were in a lot more control than Hull. I was a little bit disappointed. When you come to a place like this in the first leg, you need to try to control the game and put pressure on your opponent. They didn’t quite manage to do that. Maybe the second leg suits them in terms of their style.”
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