Hull City scraped past lower league opposition again to
make the third round of the League Cup with a 1-0 win over Rochdale.
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| (C) Hull Daily Mail |
With a league game on the horizon on Saturday and having
toiled through the heat last weekend, Steve Bruce made many more changes than
he did in the last round but while the side may have been unfamiliar – their lackadaisical
performance wasn’t.
City 4-3-3
Eldin Jakupovic
Ryan Taylor – Harry
Maguire - Alex Bruce – Andy Robertson
Isaac Hayden –
David Meyler – Mohamed Diame
Abel Hernandez –
Greg Luer – Sam Clucas
The big news on the team front was the inclusion of Mo
Diame who was starting for the first time since Everton away in December –
since when he’s only featured twice as a substitute in April. Having snazzily
created the colours of the Sengalese flag with his green boots, red tape and
amber socks – Diame set about reminding everyone of his quality with some nice
touches, driving runs and smart passing.
He took a few knocks and everyone held their breath but
he bounced up again and made a mockery of Steve Bruce’s pre-match comments that
he may not be back to his best until the New Year. We shouldn’t get carried
away because players often get through early games on adrenaline and then have
a dip but he’s certainly looking like the player we missed badly after his
injury problems last season.
City started very much on the front foot and were
rewarded for some early pressing with a well taken goal. Hernandez played a
neat pass to his left and found both Diame and Luer in space. The young striker signed from Burgess Hill last
summer took the responsibility (as any good striker would) and finished neatly
around the stranded keeper from 18 yards [1-0].
After a powerful run, Diame slid in Hernandez on our left but he shot wide of
the near post and then Robertson failed to either pass or shoot after making a
good run onto another Diame pass.
That was as good as it got before the break as City took
their foot off the accelerator again and coasted along. It’s becoming a
frustrating habit and it drew Rochdale into the game. There was a lack of
urgency in the play from back to front but also a lack of quality in
possession. We stroked the ball around slowly before giving it away cheaply
time and again. We seem to have a belief as a group that games are over at
one-nil but that couldn’t be further from the truth. As a result of the slow
tempo, moving the ball forward becomes difficult because we’re not creating
gaps.
Half time: Hull
City 1 Rochdale 0
The City players went through a little warm-up before the
second half to try and address the slow starts after the break. Perhaps as a
result, we started the second half as brightly as the first and created an
excellent chance when Diame and Clucas combined to feed Robertson and he brilliantly
put the ball on a plate for Hernandez at the back post but he somehow shot over
from four yards. Despite that miss and a later one set up by sub Elmohamady,
Hernandez had another decent game and put a lot of effort in – particularly in
the first half. Robertson had another mixed game. He made one or two important
challenges but made poor decisions in defence too often and almost cost a late
equaliser running out to close down leaving their sub Allessandra to exploit
the space he left and, fortunately, shoot over.
The 4-3-3 system seemed to work well early on when
Meyler, Diame and Hayden were busy and the three strikers pressed as a unit but
as the game went on we ended up with one striker isolated and no threat from
the right. Ryan Taylor’s been a good player but it’s hard to see where he fits
in at City. He’s not got anything like the pace or athleticism these days to
challenge Odubajo or Elmo for a right back spot and he was equally useless in
midfield. He looks a waste of wages.
Sam Clucas is a better investment but he’s playing within
himself. He looked far more confident playing for Chesterfield against us
recently so it may well just be a case of allowing him to adapt to new
surroundings and get used to playing with big name teammates.
The second half went the way of the first and The Tigers
ended up clinging on. The crowd of 10,430 – a decent turnout for the early
rounds of this competition these days – got more and more agitated with the
lack of quality and perceived lack of effort. It all became a bit unambitious.
At one point Clucas attacked down the left before realising he had little
support and chose not to take on the full back. Instead he went backwards until
he found Hayden in midfield and he dropped the ball off to Maguire. Left wing
to centre half in two passes.
For all their possession and our jitteriness – Rochdale never
really threatened. They might have had a late penalty when Maguire tried a
diving header a foot off the ground and landed on top of the ball. There was a
big handball shout but the ref waved it away. It definitely hit his hand and I’ve
seen them given. He was certainly lucky. In the end, just getting through and
avoiding having to watch another half an hour was a relief.
Full time: Hull
City 1 Rochdale 0
They say you get what you pay for and having got into
this game for free – it was certainly true of this evening. David Meyler picked
up the Man of the Match award which he deserved but there wasn’t a great deal
of competition. Only the return of Diame, looking as good as new, and the beautifully
taken goal of Luer were highlights.
Bring on Swansea at home in round three. Somehow, I don’t
think they’ll be scared.
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