Former Hull City favourite Liam Delap missed a big chance for Chelsea in the first half of Friday night’s FA Cup tie, and Alan Shearer was less than impressed
Liam Delap sees his shot saved by Dillon Phillips(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Liam Delap admits he thought his rebounded effort off Hull City goalkeeper Dillon Phillips had gone in, as he wheeled away to celebrate before seeing it cannon back off the underside of the crossbar.
The Chelsea striker, on his return to Hull City, looked to have opened the scoring when he closed down Phillips’ meandering clearance, but it slammed back off the bar, and after a delay, Delap picked it up and saw his effort blocked by the Tigers’ stand-in goalkeeper.
It was an incredible miss from the forward, one which was criticised by Alan Shearer, but he recovered to star in the 4-0 FA Cup success, notching three assists. Two of those came to help Pedro Neto seal a hat-trick, and one for Estevao.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search. Help us stay visible by adding us as a Preferred Source in your search settings
“I swear on my life, I almost ran off,” he said. “I thought it went in. Obviously, I was waiting for the ref to blow his whistle. I should have put it in a second time, but it was crazy. Silly from me, but I thought it went in.”
“Important win. On to the next. Enjoyed seeing some familiar faces in a place that means a lot to my journey, too,” he added on his return to the MKM Stadium.
Former England striker Alan Shearer, who was on commentary for the BBC, revealed his surprise at Delap’s miss, before lavishing him with praise for his performance in collecting a hat-trick of assists.
“Goodness me. What is Delap doing? It is as if he is thinking, ‘I have all the time in the world’. He ambles to it, and he takes his time,” Shearer said.
“What are you waiting for? Liam Delap has not had a good four minutes. He has given it away twice and missed a sitter. Delap has been poor, and he has been given the opportunity tonight.
“Delap looks very lazy, his performances have to improve. Delap recovered well from that start and has been instrumental in the win. He deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Chelsea boss Rosenior, was backed his number nine’s performance: “Top [performance]. To be a No.9, especially in a system that we play, it’s not always about yourself. It’s about bringing other people into play. It’s about sometimes making sacrifice runs so other players get the spac,e and I thought in terms of, again, he started our press so well.
“But it’s nice in a way that you’re singling so many different players out, which means it’s a really strong team performance. And from 1-15, I felt it was a really, really strong performance tonight.”
Rosenior, meanwhile, hailed the professional display from his side, and in particular, Pedro Neto, who stole the show with a clinical hat-trick.
“I think the overall positive thing was the application of the team. I thought our pressing, our intensity, our work rate, and Pedro exemplified that, to be honest,” the ex-City boss continued.
“That’s why he scores the goals that he does. I’m very lucky to have such talented players. What I’m really realising quickly, not just that they’re good players, they’re outstanding professionals.
“I felt it was a really professional performance tonight against a very good team who are pushing for the Premier League. This is not an easy game. Some of our football was everything I want to see, but before that, the values of what the team stood for tonight made me a very happy coach.”
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.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page