Victories haven’t felt this important for a while, but that definitely was!
Yes there are areas which still need to improve sharpish (on and off the ball at times) , but the desire and cohesion was there for all to see in abundance, and some of those players had their best matches in a Hull City shirt , as the team showed great strength of character after another early setback.
The decision to change to a 4-2-3-1 was a key factor in this, as Dimitrios Pelkas stated after the game – it allowed him to feature in his most natural position- as he and others looked so more composed and effective. This was proven with some lovely movement on the right hand side between Coyle and Christie and a sublime cross which the Greek international finished off superbly. But as well as the goal, the formation change also offered a balanced midfield, protection in front of a defence conceding goals at will of late, but quicker transitions from defence into attack.
Despite Wigan having the odd chance and proving why they have been such a threat away from the DW Stadium, the whole atmosphere amongst the crowd and the response by the players made it feel like we were the more likely of the two sides who would take all three points. And you know things turned in our favour when we scored from a corner for what feels like the first time in forever! It was some header from Oscar as well , who thoroughly deserved a goal for his performance all game.
It was, and still is hard to criticise any of the players for their endeavour. Dogukan Sinik’s 60-minute performance was superb – hopefully we will see even more in the coming weeks – , and the decision to play Cyrus Christie further up the pitch worked in both an attacking and defensive shape, and his performance seemed a lot similar to when Allahyar has played on the wing. This just shows the strength in depth we have and the capabilities of this squad when every player is making a positive contribution.
It was also brilliant to see Ozan Tufan have what was arguably his best game in a City shirt, and the timing of it couldn’t have been better as he seemed to be unfairly targeted by Turkish media outlets in the build up to the match. His move from a more advanced into a deeper role seemed to not only benefit the team as a whole, but enabled him to dictate play at times, as well as put in the hard yards which we lacked in the previous five outings.
Finally, Pedro Martins looks all but set to take charge on Sunday afternoon against Huddersfield Town, but I would like to see Andy Dawson remain in his backroom team. In my opinion, allowing Pedro to bring in an influx of his own ideas and personnel that have been successful with a mix of people who know the club and players inside out could help us prosper for the remainder of the season , starting at the John Smith’s Stadium.
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