The Tigers have just nine games of the season remaining
Hull City claimed an impressive win at Wrexham on Tuesday to claim the league double over the Welsh outfit (Image: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock)
Hull City’s deserved win at Wrexham on Tuesday night was their 10th on the road this season, and again nipped a two-game losing run in the bud before it became more serious.
As they have done all season, City have managed to arrest a mini slide in the nick of time and coming against one of their rivals in the play-off race, made it all the more important.
City were excellent against Millwall and came out on the wrong end of a defeat, which, in the Championship, is one of those possibilities.
In North Wales, for 75 minutes, Sergej Jakirovic’s side were excellent and should have been more than just the two up they were, and once the Red Dragons pulled a goal back, things got a tad nervy.
In the end, City saw it out and claimed a big three points. The perfect riposte to defeats at Ipswich last midweek and then the Millwall one at the weekend.
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After a run of three games against sides inside the top six, plus Derby County, who were on the fringes of the play-offs in the last five games, City now have three against the current bottom three.
On paper, you’d say playing the bottom three is a massive chance to take a big step towards securing a place in the top six. Should City emerge with nine points, depending on what those below them do over the same period, then there’s a fair chance they could be largely home and hosed.
The Championship, though, is an unforgiving mistress at the best of times. As Jakirovic often says, every game on any given day is a 50/50 contest. West Brom are enduring a nightmare season, but always a tough nut to crack on their home pitch at The Hawthorns and may well be buoyed by the points they’ve claimed against Sheffield United and Southampton in the last two.
They’re desperate for points and have looked a little better since Eric Ramsey was sacked within weeks of his arrival. Then come, Sheffield Wednesday, and we know how difficult City found them at Hillsborough.
Yes, it was Hillsborough. On Boxing Day etc. But the Owls were moments away from beating Watford on Tuesday night, and have nothing to lose. They’re already down, and would love nothing more than to put a spanner in the spokes of City’s promotion charge at the MKM Stadium.
Then, after the international break, City go to the Kassam Stadium to face Oxford United. Under Matt Bloomfield, the Us have carved out some decent results recently, and at home, on Good Friday, will afford City nothing for free.
Each of those teams is scrapping at the bottom of the Championship, just like City were 12 months ago, and will be desperate to take the Tigers’ scalp.
Of course, three games against the bottom three are a fantastic opportunity, but these are games you cannot take lightly, and in many ways, are more difficult than those against the top sides. When you know what you’re getting, you know you have to be at your very best.
That same logic applies when you’re facing sides fighting for their lives. City have shown this season they can win different types of games, especially away from home and having two of them on the road, given their form, is a positive, but they must take care of business and be wary.
If they can come out the other end and be ready to host Coventry City under the lights on Easter Monday, then the picture may well look even more rosy than it does now.
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