Tigers get the better of Boro in dramatic derby
FOR much of this season, making a persuasive case to the wider football public that either of these two Yorkshire clubs bring enough to the Premier League to warrant an extended stay – one whose stadium regularly has 5,000 empty seats, the other embarrassingly goal-shy – has been a hard sell. But not last night.
To the backdrop of a crackling atmosphere, Hull City and Middlesbrough served up a breathless contest that was both exhilarating and exhausting for all inside the KCOM Stadium.
With defending clearly viewed as an optional extra by two coaches who knew only victory would do in the fight for survival, this end-to-end contest had a little bit of everything.
Goals, free-flowing football, stunning saves and a huge dollop of controversy meant the 20,380 crowd were treated to an all-White Rose affair that few will forget in a hurry.
By the time the music had stopped shortly before 9.40pm, Hull had three precious points and Boro were a step closer to a Championship return.
Adding to the jubilation felt by the locals were a trio of late goals from Tottenham at Swansea that not only clinched a 3-1 win for the visitors, but also allowed the Tigers to escape the relegation zone after 165 days of captivity.
Considering the mess Hull were in when Marco Silva arrived in January – for a start, they were six points behind Boro at the time – this is a remarkable turnaround.
As for Steve Agnew’s men, they now trail fourth-bottom Hull by seven points. With Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool still to play, there seems no way back for the Teesside club.
Last night may have brought the attacking football the Boro fans had craved for so long, but it was to no avail.
The fun and games started almost straight away, Oumar Niasse putting the ball in the visitors’ net inside three minutes only to be rightly ruled offside.
Boro’s response was swift and impressively clinical, as Alvaro Negredo swept a pass out to Adama Traore on the right flank before dashing 40 yards to slide in at the back post and convert a wayward shot from the Spaniard that had quickly turned into an inchperfect cross.
‘We’ve scored a goal,” sang the 2,544 away fans, jubilant at seeing their side find the net on the road for the first time in 2017.
Those same Teesside voices, though, were soon silenced by three goals in 19 minutes from the home side.
First, Lazar Markovic, a threat all night, pounced to fire in the equaliser from close range after Abel Hernandez had been unable to convert a deflected looping cross from Andrew Robertson.
Hernandez followed that nuisance value by creating Hull’s second, the Uruguayan capitalising on Ben Gibson mis-reading the flight of the ball before passing to Niasse, who fired in from 12 yards.
After playing his part in those first two goals, Hernandez was in the right place at the right time to finish off a delightful move that had seen Harry Maguire release Kamil Grosicki with a threaded pass that was quite magnificent.
This came just seconds after Eldin Jakupovic had denied Negredo with a fine reflex save and it was clear, even as the home players celebrated Hernandez’s strike, that Boro were far from finished.
Rudy Gestede underlined this much with a header that Jakupovic turned onto the crossbar before Negredo went agonisingly close with a curled effort from 20 yards that flew an inch or so past a post.
Boro’s attacking intent was rewarded in first-half stoppagetime, albeit in hugely controversial circumstances due to Marten De Roon heading in from a clearly offside position.
A touchline conflab between Michael Oliver and his linesman gave Hull hope that justice would be done, but the goal stood despite replays clearly showing the Dutch defender had been two yards offside when Gibson headed the ball in his direction.
The pace, understandably, slackened after half-time, but the game remained remarkably open with chances at either end.
Alfred N’Diaye brought a smart save from Valdes, then both Robertson and Grosicki were unfortunate to see inviting crosses go begging.
Hull’s nerves were finally settled 20 minutes from time by Maguire’s first Premier League goal, the defender marking his bow as captain with a bullet header at the back post from Robertson’s free-kick.
The icing on Hull’s night then came via that late flurry of Spurs goals in south Wales. The great escape really might be on after all in the East Riding.