Tigers can have no excuses for producing such a dire display
IF CITY CAN’T SEE OFF FELLOW STRUGGLERS WHAT HOPE IS THERE AGAINST LEAGUE’S BIG GUNS?
While no Hull City player would admit to looking ahead at the schedule that followed the Tigers’ trip to Reading, they knew passing up another opportunity for three points was not an option.
A run of three matches heading into the international break sees City take on promotion contenders Middlesbrough,
Leeds United and Sheffield United after their visit to the Madejski Stadium, where the Royals had failed to pick up a single point since April.
The Tigers have hardly been potent in the Championship this campaign, far from it, but the visit to Reading provided an opening they had to make count in order to start looking up rather than towards the bottom of the table.
A quick start was crucial, but just the opposite unfolded as Nigel Adkins and his side were taken apart by the rampant Royals, stunning the Tigers into submission just four minutes into the game as Sam Baldock opened the scoring as Reading went on to win 3-0.
The striker’s poke home set the tone for a match that left travelling fans wondering where the club’s next win will be coming from in the Championship.
Adkins’ men were second best in every department in the first half, as Reading piled pressure on their guests, peppering David Marshall’s goal with shots.
Despite an uplift in performance in the second half two goals in the final 20 minutes ensured the Tigers were sent back to East Yorkshire with their tails between their legs. A week that had started so brightly with City fans adventurously looking up the table, ended with by far the worst performance of the season to leave them one point outside the drop zone and fearing the worst.
“It was terrible,” Adkins told the press after the game.
“We came here believing we could go and win the game but for the first half hour we were nowhere near them. We were yards off their men and gave them the freedom of the pitch.”
Famous for his optimism, even Adkins could not give the performance a positive spin as he struggled to hide the bitter taste in his mouth on his first return to the Madejski Stadium as a manager since being sacked by the club in December 2014.
In truth, even more questions would have been asked if he had attempted to justify the display in Berkshire, which was far from deserving of vindication. There were no excuses, just the simple fact that the Tigers were convincingly beaten in the Reading drizzle.
The Royals made four changes ahead of the game, leaving the former Tiger Sone Aluko on the bench, who has been a much-maligned figure at Reading this season for his sub-par performances, and looked rejuvenated for it.
From the first minute the Royals were pushing forward with speed and energy, stretching the backline and poking holes through City’s resolve.
And as has happened on so many occasions this season already, a corner kick proved the catalyst for the Tigers to crumble.
Leandro Bacuna put the ball in, drawing Marshall to the near post to parry, but the Scottish goalkeeper could only divert the ball centrally and Baldock was the quickest to react, poking the ball home and instantly lifting the mood of the near-12,000 home fans inside the Madejski Stadium.
Buoyed by their quick start, Paul Clement’s side pushed for a second and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson could have it when he met Bacuna’s cross with his head.
But, despite being unopposed in the
Tigers’ box the imposing striker could only nod the ball over the bar.
The Tigers midfield duo of Kevin Stewart and Markus Henriksen – together in the starting XI for the second straight game – were chasing shadows as they failed to impose themselves on Reading’s confident midfield and the chances kept on coming.
Bacuna forced Marshall into a fine save to tip his curling free-kick over the bar, which seemed destined for the top corner.
From the resulting corner, Fraizer Campbell was forced to clear the ball off the line in what was the striker’s most lasting contribution.
For 90 minutes the striker cut a frustrated figure as the Tigers failed to provide the service to the 31-year-old and despite his effervescent energy, Campbell couldn’t wake City up from their daze.
On a day boxing dominated the sporting news Reading couldn’t deliver the knockout blow and almost allowed City a way back into the game but Jackson Irvine couldn’t hit the target from eight yards.
“Their tails were up and they were doing
really well. Just before half-time we grew into the game and Jackson Irvine had a great opportunity that he’s hit over the bar. That could have changed the complexion,” Adkins said, lamenting the clearest chance the Tigers carved out, which indeed could have altered the momentum drastically.
City did improve after the break, but it is perhaps indicative of their shortcomings this season that they couldn’t find a clear-cut opening and they were made to pay for it late as two acts of poor defending saw the Tigers knocked to the canvas and facing a count.
Substitute Mo Barrow freed Andy Yiadom into the area, who beat Tommy Elphick before squaring to Bodvarsson.
He was allowed to pick his spot from inside the area and the third came through a similar route.
Getting to the byline, Josh Sims’ low cross was cleared by Reece Burke as far as Yiadom, who turned, held off a challenge and finished to not only ensure the points, but also deliver the blow which saw the Tigers off.
If there was one positive to take from the encounter, City did have the ball in the net three times only to have all of them chalked off by the referee for offside – two in the first half and a Kamil Grosicki free-kick in the dying embers after John O’shea had been sent off for a foul on Chris Martin.
Adkins’ side now face the thankless task of looking for a much-needed reaction against Tony Pulis’ Middlesbrough on Saturday, who currently find themselves in the top two. It could get an awful lot worse before it gets better.