City notched a fifth straight away victory
Matt Crooks of Hull City celebrates scoring(Image: James Marsh/Shutterstock)
Matt Crooks stepped off the bench to score a crucial goal for Hull City just as he did 10 months ago to keep the Tigers in the Championship, this time to secure a 1-0 win at Portsmouth.
City produced one of their tamest performances of the season in the first half against a Pompey side largely restricted to shots from outside the box. The saving grace for the Tigers was the fact it remained goalless at the interval.
Crooks made a difference off the bench and powered in after John Lundstram and Oli McBurnie forced an error at the back, and they saw it out in the final stages to make it five straight wins on the road for the first time since 1966.
Here’s how Tigers reporter Barry Cooper rated the players on the South Coast on Saturday afternoon….
Ivor Pandur: Good early save to deny Swanson and another couple to deny Terry Devlin and Ebou Adams. Rarely troubled in the second half, but did what he had to do. 8/10
Lewie Coyle: Had a tough first half up against Milli Alli, but stuck at it. Much more solid in the second half when he needed to. Booked late on. 6/10
Charlie Hughes: A busy first period, and I had to be at it. Important interception in the second half after Famewo was caught. He was very good throughout and probably Man of the Match. 7.5/10
John Egan: Shaky start, didn’t look comfortable at times in the first period. Much better in the second as City battled hard to keep a clean sheet. 7/10
Akin Famewo: A return to the starting XI in the absence of Ryan Giles and a seventh league start of the season. Had a couple of nervy moments but stayed at it. 7/10
Regan Slater: Nowhere near his level in the first period, summed up a chance to break through midfield and he played a sloppy ball out to Koumas. Grafted hard throughout before coming off. 6/10
Amir Hadziahmetovic: Another who was well below par in the first period. Struggled to wrestle any real momentum in the second period. Was booked just before coming off. 6/10
Lewis Koumas: Handed a first league start after his fine cameo in midweek, and carved out a good chance for Gelhardt in the first minute. 6/10
Joe Gelhardt: Should really have scored from Koumas’ lay-off when McBurnie headed in from an offside position. No lack of effort it just didn’t come off. 5/10
Kyle Joseph: Not in the game in the first half on the right, spent most of it defending and couldn’t really change that in the second half before coming off. 5/10
Oli McBurnie: Had the ball in the net inside two minutes but was flagged offside and that was his highlight of a first half where he had nothing to work with. Forced the error for the winning moment. 6/10
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Subs:
Matt Crooks (for Amir 63): A welcome return for the playmaker following his hamstring injury. Lovely challenge to free Slater who couldn’t make the most of it. Scored the winner, and changed the game in City’s favour. 8/10
John Lundstram (for Joseph 63): Much better from the Liverpudlian. Had a hand in the winning goal with his block on the edge of the area. 6/10
Liam Millar (for Gelhardt 76): A couple of useful interventions but it wasn’t a game where City were suddenly going to exploit his pace 6/10
Paddy McNair (for Koumas 87): Did what he needed to do in what turned out to be the final 10 minutes of action. 6/10
Kieran Dowell (for Slater 87): Slightly bizarre cameo, gave the ball away a couple of times and a needless free-kick outside the box. Still doesn’t look at it. 5/10
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