SILVA SERVICE
Hull boss extends amazing home run as 10-man Tigers see off Watford to keep their survival bid right on track
ANTONIO CONTE and Mauricio Pochettino ri ghtly have t heir admirers but if Marco Silva can complete the great escape with Hull City, he will be manager of the decade, let alone 2017.
Rewind to January when Silva was unveiled at the KCOM Stadium to widespread derision, with Hull bottom of the table and about to sell their best players, Jake Livermore and Robert Snodgrass. When Liverpool flop Lazar Markovic was unveiled as their great saviour, ridicule turned to anger.
Well, they are too busy cheering on Humberside to laugh or snarl these days. Silva’s latest miracle saw Hull see off Watford despite playing 65 minutes with 10 men after the controversial dismissal of centre forward Oumar Niasse.
Silva, 39, reacted to going a man down by sending on a striker, Abel Hernandez. It was the kind of bold move that his fellow Portuguese Jose Mourinho might have pulled.
Hull rode their luck and then struck. First, Markovic completed an astonishing counter-attack from the edge of Hull’s penalty area to put the Tigers ahead on 62 minutes. Eight minutes later the roof came off when Sam Clucas, a Lincolnshire lad who has spent most of his career in t he l ower l eagues, smashed in from nearly 30 yards.
Amid the bedlam, Silva was the coolest figure i n the stadium, pulling Kamil Grosicki to one side to issue instructions while his players celebrated.
Silva’s remarkable home record continues, unbeaten in 41 matches in the league dating back to 2014, mostly with Sporting Lisbon and Olympiacos. Hull stay two points above Swansea and outside the relegation zone.
‘It wasn’t easy for us,’ said Silva, who will appeal Niasse’s dismissal for appearing to catch M’Baye Niang on the shin.
‘The red card gave us problems but the boys did fantastic. I respect the referee’s job. All of us make mistakes, I do sometimes, but Niasse said to me he didn’t touch the player. People who have seen it on TV also said it was not a red card. Maybe our players felt they wouldn’t win the game when Niasse was sent off but it’s important we always believe.’
Swansea boss Paul Clement had tried to put pressure on Hull by claiming he ‘expected’ them to beat Watford. It seemed to work at first.
Harry Maguire nearly put through his own net with a back pass in the opening minute and Hull got edgier once they heard Swansea had scored against Stoke. Things looked particularly dire when Niasse lunged in near the halfway line and Niang hit the deck in agony.
Referee Robert Madley was well positioned and showed a straight red, although Niasse was clumsy rather than malicious. The Senegal striker, on loan from Everton, looked aghast.
Silva chuntered his protests and the officials were escorted off by stewards at half-time as feelings ran high. Niang was booed for the rest of the game by fans who felt he had faked the injury.
‘I don’t understand people doing that,’ said Watford boss Walter Mazzarri. ‘Niang had nothing to do with the other guy getting the red card. He was our best player.’
Strangely, Mazzarri appears under more pressure than Silva even though Watford are safe.
Hull were indebted to goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic, who kept his side level with an outstanding reflex save from Britos before half-time.
Needing a win, Silva sent on Hernandez for Evandro, but Watford still looked the likelier scorers. When Hull failed to deal with a long throw, Jakupovic was called into action to block Capoue’s closerange shot with his feet.
The mood quickly changed when Hull snatched the lead. Andrew Robertson carried the ball deep into Watford territory and fed Grosicki down t he ri ght. His curling cross picked out Markovic, who headed against the bar and rammed home the rebound.
Hull gained in confidence and their second goal was spectacular. Holebas seemed to have got enough distance on his headed clearance following Grosicki’s corner, but Clucas took a touch to control it and fired it back into the top corner.
Silva will be courted by bigger clubs. For a coach having his first taste of management in England, it has been a mightily impressive season, though he remains modest.
‘ I’m the face you see, but it’s not just me. A lot of people are working with me behind t he scenes,’ he said.