City returned to winning ways with a Yorkshire derby victory over beleagured Wednesday
Matt Crooks celebrates his equaliser against Sheffield Wednesday(Image: Greig Cowie/Shutterstock)
For much of the first half on Saturday, Hull City struggled to make their superiority count against bottom-side Sheffield Wednesday, but after fighting back from a goal down, the Tigers claimed a deserved 3-1 win.
City fell behind midway through the first half, and levelled 94 seconds later when Matt Crooks converted Kyle Joseph’s cross, before Paddy McNair’s devilish free-kick was headed into his own net by Dom Iorfa.
The excellent Joseph made it 3-1 early in the second half, and in truth, the Tigers should have added more to the scoreline in a dominant final half-hour, with Mo Belloumi coming off the bench to crash off the post.
For City, it was a 20th win of the season, and tenth at the MKM Stadium, to send them into the final international break of the season in good heart, and firmly inside the top six.
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A job just about done
Let’s be honest, this was always a sticky game for City. Against a side without a win in their previous 32 games, and just one point in the last 45, many expected this to be a walkover.
Wednesday made life tough for City, and they didn’t deal with it well at all for long stretches of the first half. Their play was stodgy, and they were pedestrian, but when they moved the ball, they looked like a threat and scored at vital times. Once the third went in early in the second half, they looked like the side we know they can be and should really have made the scoreline more convincing than it was.
City avoided the potential banana skin and got the job done, and now they can enjoy the international break. Aside from Regan Slater’s ankle knock, the only drawback was Wrexham winning at Sheffield United, which keeps the gap to seventh at three. Much work remains when they come back, but what a position to be in still. Those promotion dreams remain alive and well with just seven games left.
And while the focus might be on seventh, they’re only five points off second place after Boro dropped more points. They can still afford to look up.
Magic Joseph
He often goes under the radar, and sometimes is one of the first players to cop criticism, but when he’s on form and playing well, Kyle Joseph is an important player in Jakirovic’s system.
His energy was crucial in a first half where City struggled, but found a way to get themselves level with his clever movement and inch-perfect pass for Matt Crooks to finish neatly and get the hosts on terms quickly after conceding.
There might be plenty of attention on Oli McBurnie being omitted from the Scotland squad, but surely Joseph’s consistent performances this season make him worthy of a chance.
Cody Drameh is also worthy of special mention. He was very good, especially in the second half and showed what quality he has when he’s on it.
A welcome break
It’s been a hectic few months for City, and perhaps, on the back of that game at Wrexham coming amid such a busy period, the Tigers ran out of gas against West Brom last weekend.
The Tigers now have the international break to rest and recover. Some players will go on holiday and return ready for the final seven games, or what they hope will be 10.
While a host of players will go away on international duty, there are key performers who will not be and can use the next week or so to recover before returning to training for the Easter weekend.
Valuable recovery time
The next couple of weeks will also provide a big opportunity for some of City’s injured players to take big steps towards getting back to fitness.
Lewie Coyle was rested and will be able to rest his ankle, while Ryan Giles, Matty Jacob and Akin Famewo will all be able to take big steps towards a return, and ease the ongoing issue the Tigers have had at left-back recently.
Others like Eliot Matazo, Darko Gyabi and Yu Hirakawa will also benefit from a period without games, and continue their rehab in the hope of finding a way back, and fingers crossed, Regan Slater can use the time to rest his ankle that he damaged in the first half after a thumping tackle.
Pitch watch
After a much-needed break, the MKM Stadium playing surface appeared to be in much better condition ahead of kick-off. The groundstaff’s hard work had paid off, and the pitch looked good. While there were still a few patchy areas in front of the South Stand, in the shaded area which gets the least amount of sunlight, the rest of it was green and lush.
There was always a feeling that once the incessant rain over the winter eased, and the sun popped out to say hello, coupled with some higher temperatures, things would look better, and so it’s proved, but the manager felt it was still unhappy with elements of it, with the bounce of the ball catching out players on both sides, espeially Ivor Pandur in the first half when a backpass slid of his boot and behind for a corner.
Hull FC have a game on Sunday and then another next weekend, before it gets more rest ahead of City’s big Easter Monday showdown against leaders Coventry City, so you’d expect it to continue to improve. Fingers crossed for some more Spring-like weather, and it can play a bit quicker next month.
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