1 week Ago By [email protected] (Barry Cooper)
Hull City returned to type on another infuriating Tuesday night with Saturday's injury-time heroics a dim and distant memory, going down to a 1-0 defeat at Watford . Another dismal game of football did not yield a showstopping finish as we saw at Hillsborough, and instead, a timid, joyless and at times, haunted Tigers side delivered a turgid display, and one that sums up why they could yet be relegated. There was little in a meek performance to suggest City have the ability to ensure their survival is secure before their final day trip to Portsmouth in just over three weeks' time, adding yet more stress to their supporters.
Here, City reporter Barry Cooper reflects on another dismal display...
. That's three games since the international break, and if we're honest, City have been pretty poor in all three. Yes, they got that massive win at Hillsborough, but apart from that sensational final few seconds, the performance wasn't good enough.
Nor was it against Luton, and at Watford, they just didn't play with any urgency. There was a massive lack of tempo; everything was sideways and back. Rarely did Selles' players break the lines and get in down either side and cause any danger .
Watford found it so easy to defend against for the most part, and that's going to be a worry for the manager who has been unable to find a way to get pace and energy into his side. You'd think the summer holidays were the main focus rather than a fight to stay in the division. The gap to the drop zone is now just two points and City are another poor result away from finding themselves inside the relegation zone.
And in truth, performances like that, are reason to be concerned enough that this season could still have a sting in the tail. What they've been able to do under Selles is get a result when they need it, and bounce back after a flurry of setbacks, even if they were unable to back it up, as they have been again here. Unfortunately, time is running out, and they're still in desperate need of points.
By the time they kick off against Coventry City on Monday night, Selles' men could be back in the drop zone and facing a real battle to get out of it. In three games against Luton, Wednesday and now Watford, City's only goal to show for it is a Charlie Hughes header from a free-kick. That is nowhere near good enough, and in the game, they don't create enough chances.
The stats say they had 16 shots at Vicarage Road, and while the goalkeeper may have had five saves to make, not one sticks in mind as a really good one where they've made the goalkeeper work and were close to scoring. This is a team devoid of creativity, one that has not even managed to score a goal a game. It's pitiful, and it's something that has to be addressed in the summer, you just have to hope they can fall over the line and survive to get that far.
Luton, Sheffield Wednesday and Watford have conceded a combined 178 goals between them this season, yet City have only mustered Charlie Hughes' header against them in the past three games. Frankly, that's diabolical. And by the way, that's now three successive trips to Watford without seeing City score a goal.
Dismal. Matt Crooks and Joao Pedro have had good careers, but they're never going to stretch teams with their pace. And because Selles deployed those two up front, Watford found it easy to keep them in check and rarely did either threaten.
The lack of movement was poor, while the creativity behind them was nowhere to be seen. Pedro had a moment in the first half but was largely non-existent in the second, and the same for Crooks, who slammed wide after a neat turn. This was a team set up to contain rather than go out and play on the front foot because it was one-paced and lacked any real dynamism, and then you get moments like we saw late on when Steven Alzate almost feels compelled to shoot from 20 yards but looks petrified, and slices miles wide.
Owing to the decision to broadcast their next game, City have an extended period now before facing Coventry City under the MKM Stadium lights on Monday evening, and that has to be used to their advantage. While that gives them a lengthy period before the visit of the Sky Blues, it does mean that next week is going to be frantic with a game on Monday followed by a long trip to Swansea City for Good Friday in South Wales, therefore cutting down their recovery time between the two important outings. City don't have a full clear week to prepare for a game now until the final week of the season in between the home meeting with Derby County and the last outing of the campaign down in Portsmouth on May 3.
By that point, they could be in the bottom three. A scary thought, but one they've brought on themselves and can only have themselves to blame. Fingers crossed results go their way over the weekend.
Did you know that you can get daily Tigers news sent straight to your device as soon as it happens through WhatsApp? It's quick and easy to join. Just click this link and select 'Join Community' to get started. Your information will be hidden, you'll only ever receive messages from the Hull Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like.
For more information, click here . You can read our Privacy Notice here..
