A clinical near-post equaliser from Kyle Joseph and a terrific run and shot from Pharrell Brown sealed a fine 2-1 win against Istanbulspor for Hull City in their outing since arriving in Turkey.
Sergej Jakirovic operated with almost two different teams with a mixture of senior professionals and academy players but got a positive result, despite seeing his side fall a goal behind on the stroke of half-time.
The only negative from a promising afternoon in the Riva sunshine was an injury to Lewie Coyle, who limped out early in the second half with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Two from two
It’s only pre-season, I hear you cry. It’s only Grimsby Town and Istanbulspor, you rightly point out. But this time, 12 months ago, City were beaten all over the shop. Not once did they ever look like winning a game of football, and that desperate form continued into what was a hapless season.
Winning breeds confidence. It makes everybody feel better, lifts the mood, and helps players buy into a new ethos. Given the stuff going on around the club regarding its finances and the transfer restrictions, only victories will lift spirits.
Jakirovic has managed just that, and based on some of the things that we saw against Istanbulspor, the Bosnian is already having quite the positive impact, which is hugely heartening. It’s also refreshing to see a manager try to keep it largely simple without the need to overcomplicate it and confuse players.
Drameh watch
A lot of the talk this summer has surrounded the future of Cody Drameh. After a tough first season, this is a huge summer for the defender, and with significant interest, he could yet move on.
That will depend on two things. The first being what does the new manager think, and secondly, does Drameh want to stick it out and fight for his place?
Depending on the severity of Coyle’s hamstring injury, he could be in line for a spell in the side by default. But based on the 80-odd minutes he played on Tuesday night, Jakirovic seems capable of getting the best out of him and that can only be a good thing for the Tigers.
Jonjo’s run-out
For the most part, the experienced midfielder looked bright from a deep-lying midfield role. His corners were of a decent standard, but for the referee penalising John Egan for merely jumping above his man, his delivery could be a real asset.
There was a moment in the first period where he played a poor pass out from the edge of the box and landed his side in trouble, but this was a solid 45 minute display.
He’s got a lot of work to do yet if he’s to earn himself a contract at City, but his height, power and experience are surely attractive to the Tigers, who were light in midfield with Steven Alzate and Gustavo Puerta unavailable through injury.
Kyle’s kicking off
It’s been a difficult start to life at City for Kyle Joseph. He came in January for £2.5m and joined the league’s worst attacking unit. While he didn’t score, few fans would be able to name a host of chances he passed up.
Watching Jakirovic’s setup, the way in which he wants balls fired in between between the lines and towards the near post, it should be just up Joseph’s street.
Getting off the mark in pre-season will give him confidence, and hopefully, he can add to that tally in the remaining games this summer because City’s need is obvious.
McCarthy’s moment
It’s only a few weeks since Cathal McCarthy was turning out for UCD, and now, he’s playing for Hull City. Not only was he brought out with the first team squad, he was thrown straight into the second half starting XI because of injuries to Puerta and Alzate.
He’s also a defender, so to be put into midfield and produce a display of that quality was hugely encouraging. There was a moment of promise where he showed for Semi Ajayi in the middle of the park, rolled his man and looked to spin away before being brought down.
That speed of thought and movement was eye-catching, as was much of what he did throughout the second period, and he should rightly be proud of his display.
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