Hull crash to 8-0 defeat
Hull City equalled the heaviest defeat in their 116-year history when they collapsed to an 8-0 humiliation at Wigan last night. “We just looked like we were going to concede every time they went forward,” said Hull manager Grant Mccann, whose side were 7-0 adrift at the interval.
Wigan Athletic 8
Naismith 1, Moore 27, 40, Dowell 32, 42, 65 Lowe 37, Williams 45+1
Hull City 0
A hat-trick from Kieran Dowell was the highlight of Wigan’s largest Football League victory and a humiliating evening for Hull, who matched the worst result in their 116-year history.
Even if Wigan are deducted the 12-point penalty hanging over them after the club went into administration earlier this month, this result leaves them above Grant Mccann’s side on goal difference.
It was the manner of the defeat, in which Hull trailed 7-0 at the interval, that will have been of concern to Mccann, whose team face fellow strugglers Luton on Saturday. The manager has faced calls to stand down for the remaining two fixtures, but declined to address the possibility last night.
“I don’t think that’s a question I’ll answer now,” he said. “We have two huge games coming up. So I’ll prepare the team to try and get results. We just looked like we were going to concede every time they went forward. We could have been 10-0 down at half-time. It hurts. We felt embarrassed and I’d like to apologise to our fans on behalf of everybody in that dressing room.”
Dowell completed the rout with the goal of the match after 65 minutes, finishing with a delicate volley from the edge of the area after fullback Nathan Byrne had found him with his third assist of the game. It was the first time in 33 years – since Manchester City defeated Huddersfield 10-1 – that a home team had scored eight goals in the second tier of English football.
“Since news came through that we were in administration, the town has rallied around us unbelievably well,” said Wigan manager Paul Cook. “It’s been humbling for myself and the players and there has not been one complaint from the players, nobody asking when they’re getting paid. We’ve got the utmost respect for the 75 people who lost their jobs. We have to make sure they’re proud of us, and we go that extra yard and overcome that 12-point deduction.”
It had taken Wigan less than two minutes to open the scoring with Kal Naismith finding little opposition at the far post to head in a Dowell cross. It took until the 27th minute for the home side to extend their lead when Kieffer Moore turned and finished clinically from Byrne’s first assist.
But it was becoming apparent that Hull were lacking any sort of basic desire to compete, either with the ball or, more importantly, without as they fell apart in the first half. Dowell, Lowe and Moore’s header after 40 minutes made it 5-0 before Dowell and Williams both had time to score further goals – the first time since Watford defeated Blackpool 7-2, that an EFL team had scored seven in one half.
Wigan (4-2-3-1): Marshall; Byrne, Kipre, Balogun (Dobre 77), Robinson (Pearce 56); Morsy, Williams (Evans 56); Naismith, Dowell (Roberts 71), Lowe; Moore (Massey 56). Subs Jones (g), Obi, Mlakar, Gelhardt.
Hull City (4-2-3-1): Long; Pennington (Tafazolli 45), Burke, de Wijs, Elder; Honeyman, Da Silva Lopes; Bowler (Batty 35), Toral (Stewart 45), Wilks (Eaves 45); Magennis (Lewis-potter 57). Subs Ingram (g), Macdonald, Mcloughlin, Scott. Booked Honeyman, Toral Referee Tony Harrington (Teesside)