Sergej Jakirovic says he told his players there had to be a marked improvement in the second half of Hull City‘s 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town.
The Tigers produced a tepid, dismal display in the first period and were deservedly a goal down to Florentino Luis’ 22nd-minute strike at the break, in a performance worryingly similar to the Fulham showing two weeks earlier.
Jakirovic opted to go with a more attacking 4-3-3 formation in the second period, and it worked a treat with Tim Iroegbunam scoring a well-taken equaliser, before Oli McBurnie rattled in a terrific free-kick, as the hosts purred into life.
For the third home game on the spin, though, City were unable to keep their lead, and Ensiso lofted in a fine equaliser to earn a point for the Tractor Boys.
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Jakirovic, though, was pleased with the response of his players after a frustrating first-half performance which threatened to see them lose for the first time at the MKM Stadium.
“My first sentence in the dressing room at half-time was that we cannot play in the second half so, so bad, there is no way,” the Croatian told Hull Live. “We will change, and we will try to push more, to take more risks, but it’s also the opponent. I have to watch this game, but I think they overloaded us in midfield with their midfielders.
“They locked our wing-backs with wingers, and then this right full-back, he played low, not so high like in previous games, and then Oli (McBurnie) especially, he was there 3 v 1; no chance. Reegs (Slater) and Tim (Iroegbunam) dropped too much, so they could not help. We don’t have support, and Elliot’s (Stroud) distances were too big; he cannot press Diop, and he cannot press the right full-back.
“They play rondo with you, and that was the main problem. After 30 minutes, we put John Egan in as an extra midfield player, and then we had much more stability, but still that was poor, especially when we won the ball, we didn’t do anything.
“I think we shot towards our goal twice, but we showed mentality again in the second half, which is very, very important.”
Despite City remaining winless since the end of August, getting another point on the board, he says, is positive.
“I respect a lot of the points, especially after our first half,” he continued. “We were not good, or I can say Ipswich were better, much better than us, and after 30 minutes we started to maybe show something there, but still it was very poor.
“A crucial moment was when we changed our system (at half-time), tactical substitution with Crooksy, and then we started to push more, to press more, to be much more aggressive, and all of a sudden we had control out of possession, in possession, and we scored two nice goals.
“Maybe we could control the last 20 minutes better because Enciso scored an excellent goal for me, but still we could defend this. There are three guys around him, and those three players can make a foul. At 2-2, if you cannot win, don’t lose, which is good.
“I know we are waiting now almost two months to win, but still it’s positive; it’s like I said last time, a step forward.”
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