Mccann’s revenge and City’s determination...
Josh Magennis and Reece Burke netted the goals which saw Hull City progress to round two of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Fleetwood at the KCOM. City will be in tonight’s draw after recovering from last weekend’s defeat at Swindon Town to overcome their League One rivals.
Revenge
Make no mistake, few in and around the club would take victory in the FA Cup over three points in the league, and if we could swap results from this one to last month’s league outing, we probably would.
Unfortunately, that was never going to be possible and earning some kind of revenge for that aberration last month was important, so too was proving a few things to themselves.
While revenge can’t be delivered in full until mid-april when the pair meet again in League One, City securing bragging rights and a place in round two of the FA Cup felt important, as did the manner of their display.
In the game at Highbury last month, City were swamped.
They were overrun down the flanks, in particular on their left with Harvey Saunders running riot, but also through the middle.
Grant Mccann clearly learnt from that mistake, by playing Alfie Jones alongside Richie Smallwood to shore up the defensive area of the midfield.
On that fateful Friday night, Fleetwood bossed the midfield with Glenn Whelan and Paul Coutts in charge, here, it was a role reversal with the home side controlling it from start to finish.
City are no pushovers
City’s players and staff were less than impressed as they made the journey back from Lancashire last month. The attitude from the stands and in particular the aggression left a sour taste especially given the game was supposedly being played behind closed doors. So, it was nice to see City’s players stand up for themselves on their own patch.
A month ago, City were pushovers - they allowed Barton’s men to gain the physical edge and at times, they rolled over and allowed their bellies to be tickled.
Not here, right from the moment Ched Evans bumped into Callum Elder barely two minutes in, you knew Mccann’s men were up for the fight, especially coming after Barton’s pre-match comments.
I’m not suggesting for a minute that Elder left anything on Evans, or that it was orchestrated for Saunders to be bumped into George Long’s forearm on half-time, but it was refreshing to see the Tigers have that physical edge that’s going to be needed this gruelling campaign.
Not that you ever want to see players hurt or end up in hospital as was the case with Evans and Saunders, but Mccann’s side were not going to allow themselves to be bullied and that spirit is what’s going to be needed in spades between now and May.
Burke and Greaves the future?
Jacob Greaves is still new to professional football in his second season after a positive spell at Cheltenham last term, but he looks at home. And in turn, he seems to be the calming influence Reece Burke needs to help him through games.
In the four games the pair have played together, City have kept three clean sheets and in this encounter, they were part of a defensive unit which ensured Long had a very quiet afternoon.
With Jordy de Wijs out of form, Burke and Greaves have a chance to forge a partnership at the heart of the defence. The duo also look a real threat in the air at the other end, as Burke’s first goal for the club showed, while Greaves will still be reliving his miss in the closing stages.
Cup fever should not be written off...
While promotion is the main aim this season, there’s no reason why a little cup run would cause harm.
Mccann’s been backed to put together a good squad, but a big squad and with an extra cup game or two, progress in the competition gives him a good chance to rest players and give the fringe members minutes, which in turn keeps them fresh and ready to be called upon later in the campaign if required.
There’s a couple of other angles, too. The club has not been used to winning, so any run of victories is a good thing, confidence is huge and the more wins City can put on the board, the better it’ll be.
There’s also the financial impact. Beating Fleetwood netted City just shy of £17,000, while victory at Harrogate tomorrow would see another £30,000 swell the coffers.
While not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things, it helps when the club’s matchday income has been reduced to nothing because of the current pandemic.
On the right path...
Excluding the 0-0 draw at Sunderland which City came through on penalties, the Tigers have scored in their last 14 games.
Whichever way you dress it up, Mccann’s men are scoring goals and given where they were in the second half of last season, that’s a huge improvement. The key now for City is to tighten up at the back - and while that seems an odd thing to say with eight clean sheets, it’s the games where they’ve conceded which have exposed their biggest flaws.
In the seven games they’ve conceded, the Tigers have won just twice (Bristol Rovers and Leeds United), though that does include cup defeats to Leicester’s Under-23s and West Ham. It may sound easy, but if City can just find that formula at the back - in Greaves and Burke they may have just done - then the platform they’ve got going forward is a strong one.