Hull dancing a fine line towards promotion after Baggies point
“IT felt like a play-off game,” said Ryan Giles after Hull City's 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion.
With the Baggies staying fifth in the Championship and Hull sixth, it easily could be one in May.
It felt a lot like last season's fourthversus-fifth affair, which Giles played for Middlesbrough in. Then, a moment of Premier League quality from Coventry City's Gustavo Hamer provided the only goal in 180 cagey minutes.
Saturday was probably a notch or two higher in terms of the tactical chess between Liam Rosenior and Carlos Corberan, surely two Premier League-bound coaches whether their current clubs make it or not.
It made their sides very hard to separate, and a draw a fair result.
But the memorable points of a largely forgettable 90 minutes – early kick-offs are rarely classics, unfortunately, despite the broadcasters loving them – highlighted strengths which could make the Tigers dangerous in the post-season pantomime, and the weaknesses which could even stop them getting there.
“This is the Championship,” said Rosenior, almost proudly, “every single game is defined by the slightest of margins.”
With Norwich City drawing too after Preston North End beat Coventry on Friday, the race for the last two play-off places, like that for the automatic spots, is too close to call.
West Brom and Hull have a scatter cushion to the other three, and with Coventry at the Hawthorns next weekend and the Tigers in Preston, it could be all but whipped away.
But if Hull's season does go into added time, how will they fare?
Tuesday’s win at Southampton showed they can do well in an open, intense game. Something more attritional might be harder to call.
Tactically, Rosenior had a good day against one of the best in the division. Even with less of the ball, exHuddersfield Town coach Corberan got the better of the first 45 minutes, Jed Wallace diverting a cross onto the bar and Darnell Furlong scoring either side of Fabio Carvalho’s goal.
Too often Jaden Philogene had to play more like a right-back than Hull's right-back by dragging Lewie Coyle inside to deal with the very narrow Tom Fellows and pushing ex-Tiger Conor Townsend so high from left-back that the winger had little option but to follow.
But it was Hull who were closest to being in charge of a second half where both sides hit the woodwork, Rosenior giving his side an outlet by introducing centre-forward Aaron Connolly after more than an hour of strikerless football from both teams.
“What I would say is that for as hard as we work tactically and physically, they have to work really hard against us,” stressed Rosenior.
Carvalho showed the individual skill which can give Hull slight margins. They cleverly worked a corner to him but all the credit was for the rocket-powered right boot which lashed the ball past Alex Palmer.
Hull do not lack scorers of great goals, just great goalscorers.
They also pass you open, but in the 80th minute Philogene ended a patient move by striking against an upright rather than netting.
But they always give you a chance. Half-time was approaching when Tyler Morton tried to sweep the ball out to a left-back who was not there – Giles was correctly upfield – and conceded a throw-in, then a corner where a stooping Furlong got enough space to loop a header off the turf and inside the far post in what felt like slow motion.
The one that got away for West Brom was the biggest alarm.
Only three minutes after Philogene struck the post, Regan Slater – who ought to have been fresher of leg and mind than most having
only been on five minutes – gave the ball away poorly and was relieved former Sheffield Wednesday player Adam Reach’s strike thumped the frame. Ryan Allsop kept out John Swift’s follow-up. Rosenior wants his team to be brave and take risks but spoke afterwards about “learn(ing) what it takes in terms of concentration in vital moments”.
If Hull can cut out the slip-ups, they will reach and maybe win the play-offs. As it is, they will probably keep dancing either side of the line between brilliance and madness.
All we really learnt on Saturday is we do not know what lies ahead.
To quote Hull’s coach, “This is the Championship”, after all.
Hull City: Allsop; Coyle, Jones, Greaves, Giles; Philogene, Morton, Seri (Slater 78), Zaroury (Tufan 78); Carvalho, Omur (Connolly 63). Unused substitutes: McLoughlin, Docherty, Traore, Sharp, Jacob, Pandur.
West Bromwich Albion: Palmer; Furlong, Kipre, Pieters (Ajayi 84), Townsend; Yokuslu, Mowatt; Johnston (Chalobah 84), Diangana (Swift 68), Fellows (Reach 63); J Wallace (Weimann 68). Unused substitutes: Bartley, Marshall, Avila, Griffiths.
Referee: S Martin (Staffordshire).