City’s Mccann won’t get carried away....
BUT THE OMENS ARE GOOD FOR THE TIGERS
Topping League One is a pleasing moment for Grant Mccann, but the Hull City boss says it will change nothing. The Tigers roared to the summit after Tuesday night’s 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon at the KCOM Stadium, courtesy of Keane Lewis-potter’s smart header seven minutes into added time at the end of the first half, a half delayed by an injury to debutant Lewie Coyle.
City’s success under lights came on the back of a 3-0 success at Rochdale on Saturday, with
Mccann pleased at the reaction to his side’s second-half capitulation in losing 4-1 to Fleetwood earlier this month, meaning the Tigers have now won six of their opening seven league games, having kept six clean sheets in the process.
Nothing in particular,” Mccann responded when asked what being top does for the squad, and himself.
“We’ve started the season quite well. We want to continue to build on that and we’re going to have a very tough game here at the weekend against one of the teams that I’d imagine will be up and around the automatic promotion places.”
Next up is arguably the Tigers’ biggest test yet, certainly at home, with promotion rivals Peterborough the visitors to the KCOM Stadium tomorrow, themselves fresh from a midweek victory at Wigan Athletic, and Mccann says his charges will go into the fixture in fine fettle.
“We’ll go into the game in a good mood, we’ve reacted well from a defeat at Fleetwood with two wins, four goals, no goals conceded,” said the Tigers chief. “We couldn’t have asked for a better response from that second half at Fleetwood really.”
In a year that’s been short of good omens and good news for that matter, City’s start to the season is offering a ray of light.
At the KCOM, Mccann’s men are three from three with Crewe, Plymouth and AFC Wimbledon despatched without conceding a goal thanks to successive 1-0 victories.
It’s the first time City have won their first three homes and kept a clean sheet since the 1970-71 season.
If we’re looking for good omens, it’s the first time since the 2015-16 campaign the Tigers have taken nine points from a possible nine on offer at home at the start of a season.
Five years ago a 2-0 win over Huddersfield on the opening day, followed by a 2-1 victory over
Fulham and a 2-0 result against Preston made it a welcome three from three at home.
It wasn’t enough to reach the top, with that honour going to Brighton, but City were second and on their way to promotion to the Premier League after beating Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off final.
The Tigers will hope that, unlike in 2015 when their winning start at home ended, they can make a real statement of intent by beating Peterborough tomorrow.