January’s pivotal, lightning strikes twice for Eaves, missed chances
Abattling 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light on Saturday night ensured Hull City remain unbeaten so far in 2021, albeit just two games into it. Last weekend’s fine 2-0 victory over Charlton was added to against Sunderland after Reece Burke’s early strike was cancelled out by Aiden Mcgeady eight minutes later.
Here, City reporter Barry Cooper looks at some of the key talking points from a chilly evening on Wearside.
January the biggest yet?
We’ll know a great deal about City’s prospects of promotion this season come the end of the transfer window.
Will Keane Lewis-potter still be a Tiger, can the club resist any early tempting offers for Jacob Greaves or Josh Emmanuel?
Not only are there questions surrounding the potential of players leaving the KCOM Stadium, but also ones about players coming in.
Hakeeb Adelakun has gone and Jordy de Wijs is on the verge of leaving to join QPR so not only does that free up numbers in the squad, it gives Grant Mccann some wriggle room in the playing budget and within the salary cap.
There’s also the small matter of a raft of games between now and the end of the month.
Fleetwood, Blackpool and Swindon provide the opposition aside of an away trip to Portsmouth and two games with Accrington.
Accrington are the form team in the division and were hugely impressive on Friday night at Charlton, and there’s no doubt they’ll relish the home game against City, and the chance to put on a show at the KCOM.
Instead of looking at things from a negative angle, these are matches that provide Mccann’s men with a terrific opportunity to make a statement, but more importantly put points on the board against their direct challengers.
Chances coming and going
City mustered 10 attempts on goal with four of those hitting the target. That’s not a terrible on target ratio if you look at it on paper. Games are not won on paper, however. A consistent theme that has blighted, let’s not forget, what has been a good season so far given the circumstances, is the amount of opportunities passed up.
It’s not always the effort at the end which is poor, it’s very often the final pass - the cross - ultimately, the decision making.
Saturday night was a prime example with that particular narrative running throughout.
Mallik Wilks was arguably the guiltiest of profligacy in and around the penalty box, whether that be with a poor shot at the end of a good move or more often the case, a bad decision in taking too much time on the ball and not playing in a team-mate.
Yes, a point was probably a fair result on the balance of play, but let’s not beat around the bush - this was a game City would have won had they been markedly sharper in and around the penalty box.
This is not a one off, this is something which continues to impact week in week out.
Lightning strikes twice for Tom Eaves
You have to feel a degree of sympathy for Tom Eaves. He’s had a fairly frustrating season so far, and his memories of the Stadium of Light can’t be too pleasant.
Injured in the Carabao Cup game at the start of the campaign, he’s been working his way back to fitness ever since.
Given the chance to lead the City line with Josh Magennis recovering from coronavirus, Eaves was heavily involved at both ends of the pitch, before a clash of legs saw him forced to come off with what appears to be a calf injury.
In the game prior to that departure three minutes before half-time, Eaves hit the bar when he probably should have scored and forced a good save from Lee Burge, while at the other end in trying to do his defensive duties, found himself caught under a lofted Jack Diamond ball into the box which allowed Mcgeady a free header into the bottom corner.
Eaves will probably quite like it if he doesn’t have to visit the Stadium of Light again anytime soon.
Doc finding the remedy
It can often be forgotten in football that it takes players time to settle into their new surroundings before they can go on and flourish.
In the case of Greg Docherty, that’s certainly been the case.
His start to the season looked a slow burner, as if it took him time to settle into the City way of life, into Mccann’s system and his performances, while by no means poor were certainly not what was expected by some.
In recent weeks, though, Docherty has really found his form becoming a growing influence on the way in which City operate.
Docherty is now a fundamental part of the side, and in particular, the midfield area which is starting to look really settled with Richie Smallwood and George Honeyman dovetailing along with Docherty.
The Scot is also starting to find himself inside the penalty box with an ever-increasing degree of regularity, so the natural next step for him is to start adding a goal or two to his game and then we’ll really start to see him take off.
A clash of the fallen giants
There are games that City will face in League One which will really emphasise the club’s fall from the top flight to the third tier.
Fleetwood, Rochdale, Accrington - all grounds City will visit or have visited this season, but it’s a night in Sunderland which
really rams it home. A Premier League fixture just four years ago, these two famous old names have found times hard since, and this was a game, albeit rich in effort and desire lacked any real quality in many ways, summing up why they’re both in League One.
In reality, it’s hard to imagine a time in the near future where both Sunderland and Hull City will once again be playing inside this wonderful arena in the Premier League, and that’s sad.
On this evidence, it’s hard to make a case for the Black Cats ending their League One nightmare any time soon, while the result keeps City on the right track and nestled inside the top two.