Like many Hull City fans, I hadn’t seen the team in the flesh for 511 days. Only those who travelled to Stoke for a 5-1 hammering at the start of March 2020 had a slightly shorter absence. So, when the club announced pre-season friendlies at home to Mansfield at 12pm and away to Scunthorpe at 3pm on the same day, I had to try and do both!
Hull City vs. Mansfield Town
Team: Ingram, Coyle, Fleming, Jones, Greaves, Docherty, Smallwood, Moncur, Williams, Magennis, Lewis-Potter.
Subs Used: Green, Smith, Jacobs.
Driving and walking to the now MKM Stadium didn’t feel as strange as I thought it would after 17 months away. It felt familiar from the moment I cut off Anlaby Road and ducked down Albert Ave and Lowther Street to avoid the (non-existent) traffic. The crowd of less than 2,000 was sparse, but the last three years have prepared us for seeing empty seats at home. The stadium is in need of a thorough clean, it’s scruffy and faded and deserves better given it’s less than 20 years since we opened this shiny beacon of hope for our City and our sports teams. But it’s home, and I’ve missed it immensely.
A legend of our FA Cup Semi Final win over Sheffield United was on everyone’s lips going into the game, but it was another, Stephen Quinn, lining up for Mansfield who impressed in the first game stinging the hands of Ingram early on and winning the penalty for Mansfield’s first goal with a shot that Coyle threw himself at and hit his trailing arm. Danny Johnson dispatched the penalty [0-1] to give the visitors a deserved lead just after the half hour.
City showed moments of quality and played some incisive attacking football leading to chances for Magennis, which he headed into the keeper’s hands, and Williams, who blazed over, but it was rare, and it was Mansfield who looked fresher, hungrier, and keen to impress. The Tigers had that well-seen look of “first pre-season friendly” about them. If anyone as going to score again before half time, it was Mansfield.
At half time, Olly Green and Andy Smith replaced Docherty and Jones and Green, in particular, had a terrific second half. The young midfielder had a very good game in the recent U23 friendly against North Ferriby and continued here, spraying passes beautifully and getting stuck in to challenges when he didn’t have the ball. Debutant George Moncur improved throughout the game and got himself on the ball much more after the break, passing and probing and creating interesting situations. Despite some improvement, Mansfield were a threat on the break and doubled their lead through a Johnson header at the back post after Smith and greaves were dragged out of position to make challenges leaving City all at sea [0-2].
Fleming was shook by a ludicrous tackle by Oates that earned The Stags’ winger a yellow card and City introduced another youngster, Matty Jacobs. He gave an effervescent cameo at left back, improving City immensely, and collected Green’s delightful pass to put in a superb cross that Josh Magennis headed home [1-2].
Thoughts then turned to getting to Scunthorpe in time for a 3pm kick off. In a Typical City moment, an unexploded World War 2 bomb was discovered near Goole yesterday, closing the M62 and causing horrendous traffic issues as vehicles used the Humber Bridge to circumvent the closure. Today, of all days. We left 10 minutes early to give us a bit more time but then easily navigated the traffic (thanks in part to the brilliant Humber Bridge tag *beep*) and turned up at Glanford Park with 15 minutes to spare – plus the 30 minutes that kick off was delayed!
Hull City 1 Mansfield Town 2
Scunthorpe United vs. Hull City
Team: Baxter, Emmanuel, Leake, Arthur, McLoughlin, Cannon, Huddlestone, Mayer, Scott, Eaves, Longman.
Subs used: Wood, Snelgrove
Yes, Tom Huddlestone! The big man has been training with City for fitness after a year out of the game and made a surprise appearance here, 5 years after he left City for Derby during that calamitous pre-season of 2016/17. He only played the first 45 mins, but we saw highlights of his composure in possession, his glorious range of passing and his love for a slightly late tackle. City looked rusty all over the pitch, but Tom, understandably, was rustier than most.
The away end was buzzing. The sweet release of an away game after this elongated enforced absence, no matter the distance or occasion, was shared by all. “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy Huddlestone” was sung loudly before kick-off amongst other old favourites including the first “I can’t help falling in love with you” that I’ve heard for ages. I don’t know how many were there, but it looked equivalent to those in the home end, at least.
Across both games, there were only a handful of players we’ve seen in senior action for City before, and two of those struggled here as much as they did prior to City’s infamous collapse in the 2019/20 season. Scott looks shorn of confidence, isn’t strong enough on the ball and nothing he tries comes off. No-one looks more in need of a fresh start than he does, and pre-season in front of fans isn’t fresh enough. Tom Eaves is a very willing runner, offers himself constantly and never hides, but his touch is nowhere near good enough for a Championship striker and he doesn’t give enough threat in the air to make up for it. I’d love to see both be a success at City, but it’s just not happening.
Little happened of note in the first half. Even the fervent City away support were quietened as the break approach through sheer boredom. Eaves early header was comfortably headed off the line and Festus Arthur had a scare when the ball bounced onto his arm in the penalty area. The highlight was the lively Ryan Longman, who looks a shrewd signing on loan from Brighton. He’s quick, always on the move and has great feet. He played wide left in the first half, right for most of the second half and then up top with Eaves late on. He’ll be the player who challenges the establish front three of Wilks, Magennis and KLP for a place.
Scunthorpe started the second half brighter and forced a good save from Nathan Baxter in the City goal. They then switched almost the entire team on the hour with little adverse effect and Baxter was forced into a tremendous point-blank save by a towering header from a corner. City huffed and puffed, causing some angst amongst those in the crowd who’ve forgotten that pre-season friendlies are always a) meaningless and b) shite. Andy Cannon exchanged passes on the left-hand side of the penalty area and cut inside before poking a shot wide when he should have scored.
Despite that, Cannon had an effective debut. He’s a tidy player who goes about his business with little fuss, gets into good positions with and without the ball, picks up second balls, offers himself to receive the ball and uses it simply. He lacks the dynamism of Docherty but is otherwise very useful. And if you wondered if he has other strings to his bow, with ten minutes to go, he strode onto the ball after Longman had brilliantly opened up their defence on the left-hand side and hammered the ball home first time from 20 yards [0-1].
Scunthorpe United 0 Hull City 1
The results and performances are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. They’re friendlies. They’re rarely memorable and never important. But today we saw our team again and, not just that, but we had the opportunity to see Hull City play two games on the same day. What a way to end 511 days of streaming, reading, radioing and iFollowing.
Never, ever again please. Up the bloody Tigers!
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