Subs work a treat as City take the spoils
LEWIS-POTTER, SLATER AND EAVES STRIKE TO EARN TIGERS VICTORY AT GRITTY ROVERS
Keane Lewis-potter, Regan Slater and Tom Eaves came off the bench to complete a dramatic 3-1 turnaround win for Hull City at Bristol Rovers. The Tigers recovered from a disastrous opening which saw them concede in the opening minute, to score three times courtesy of three substitutes Grant Mccann threw on together just shy of the hour mark.
Trailing 1-0, Mccann made the triple change and incredibly, all three players found the net to complete a fully deserved comeback to see the Tigers move second in League One.
Following on from Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Peterborough, Mccann opted to bring back Jordy de Wijs in place of Jacob Greaves, while Lewis-potter was dropped to the bench with Hakeeb Adelakun handed a start against the club he turned down in favour of a move to the KCOM Stadium.
No sooner had Mccann taken a sip of his coffee seconds after the whistle to get the game underway, his troops were a goal down.
A mistake from Josh Magennis in his defensive third was picked upon by James Daly on the edge of the box, and he steered a fine effort beyond Matt Ingram and into the bottom corner.
It was the epitome of a disastrous start for City, and that setback took them a minute or two and in truth, the shaky nature of their defending continued.
Ingram, in particular, looking a little nervy as he played a simple pass straight out of play – a moment which arguably summed up their start.
To their credit, however, City shook themselves and eventually they gradually worked their way into the game.
Their intense press from Rovers started to dissipate, with George Honeyman and Richie Smallwood starting to pull the strings in the middle of the park, City were looking more of a threat.
Unfortunately, their defensive fragility always threatened to be their undoing.
Josh Emmanuel and Honeyman were combining down the right to good effect, and it was the former who teased over a delightful cross which just evaded Magennis by the length of a big toe.
City continued to press, Callum Elder fired a free-kick into the arms of goalkeeper Jaakkola, though they just could not find that final ball that Mccann has talked so much about.
The Irishman was then furious with referee Brett Huxtable, with Mallik Wilks looking to break into the box, he was sent tumbling by Cian Harries – a free-kick, no dismissal which the City boss felt should follow.
Right on the stroke of the interval, more defensive sloppiness allowed Brandon Hanlan to surge towards the box, sliding in the influential Westbrooke, only for him to strike low at Ingram.
After a monsoon-like deluge at the break, Mccann opted to start the second period with the same side and they were almost level when Adelakun could only glance a header over.
Mccann threw caution to the wind a minute shy of the hour, making a triple change in a bid to fashion a way back into it – and few could have expected it to have the devastating impact it did.
Eaves, Lewis-potter and Slater came on to replace Magennis, Adelakun and Greg Docherty – in a move which changed the course of the match.
Within seconds of those changes, City were level – and they never looked back.
Wilks swept the ball wide to Emmanuel deep inside the Rovers half,. He picked out a pinpoint cross for Lewis-potter to head into the bottom corner.
In truth, that leveller was nothing more than Mccann’s men deserved for the way in which they’d roared back after that disastrous opening.
The one-way traffic continued and it saw the Tigers take a deserved lead 15 minutes
from time when Eaves took advantage of a defensive slip, surged down the right flank to pick out Slater at the back post, he steadied himself, took a touch and slotted beyond Jaakkola to complete the comeback.
As City looked to see out the closing minutes, the lively Eaves capitalised on a poor back pass to round the goalkeeper and smash the ball into the net, to spark celebrations from the Tigers bench. Quite a comeback, and the manager will surely enjoy the plaudits coming his way for the changes which swung the contest in City’s favour.
Key moment: Mccann’s triple change in the 59th minute. Lewis-potter had been on the pitch barely a minute before he headed City level. Slater then made it 2-1 and in stoppage time, Eaves added a third. You couldn’t make it up.
Good day: George Honeyman. Controlled the game for a good 70 minutes, basically he was the driving force behind City’s resurgence in the first half and he never allowed the team to look back.
Bad day? Ben Garner – the Rovers boss must have thought his night was going to be a breeze with the way it started, only to see his side crumble in front of him against a resurgent City outfit,
City tormentor: Zain Westbrooke – in the early stages, he was at the centre of everything good that Rovers did. His chance right on half-time felt pivotal and so it proved.
Ref watch: Brett Huxtable – a little bit fussy in the early stages. Got better as it wore on, couple of contentious moments that won’t have pleased either side, though on the whole, did OK.
Entertainment: 9/10 – absolutely cracking affair, and City in the second half were a joy to watch.