Hull 1-1 Burnley
That was more like it: a committed, fervent team, constantly battling for the ball and controlling it for large periods throughout the game. Despite facing second-place Burnley, who we have not beaten since 2015, it was an exceptional performance and an enjoyable encounter, especially on a cold night. The players were up for it, which struck a chord around the stadium, creating a rare roaring atmosphere. The Clarets struggled and couldn’t keep up with our pace—we needed to adapt from previous games as they are a different kettle of fish, and we did so successfully. Yes, they did show some quality towards the latter stages of the game, but when they drew level, we could do little but park the bus.
Tim Walter, serving a suspension in the stands, named another rotated squad, replacing Mehlem, Bedia, and Kamara with Millar, Pedro, and Slater. It was a risk to start Pedro (approaching 32) over a younger striker, as there was always the fear he would struggle to keep up with the pace. But it worked. In a 4-3-3 formation, we lined up as follows: Pandur in goal; Coyle, Jones, Hughes, and Drameh as the back line; Slater, Simons, and Puerta in midfield; and Belloumi, Pedro, and Millar as the attacking trio.
The Tigers suffered a heavy blow in the opening ten minutes when Liam Millar was forced off the field after injuring his ankle and going down in pain twice. Kamara replaced him, a player who still needs time to shine. Despite the setback, it didn’t impact our game plan; we seemed to play better and dominated the first half. Burnley managed six attempts, which was expected, but they had to face eight from us. Additionally, we figured out our opponent, who kept playing out from the back. Our energetic front line caused them problems, forcing mistakes and corners. However, we didn’t capitalise—something we need to improve if we want to beat top teams.
Our hard work and dedication paid off on the stroke of half-time when we broke the deadlock. A professional, smooth attack on the left flank allowed Kamara and Puerta to link up. The former pulled the ball back to the edge of the area for an onrushing Simons, who shot first-time. A slight deflection helped the ball nestle into the back of the net to secure his first goal in black and amber; hopefully, not his last.
It was intriguing to see how we would handle the game in the second period: do we go for glory, or do we sit back and defend our lead? We were capable of getting into dangerous positions, as evident in the first half. But we had to be canny as we are vulnerable at times and have lost our lead in matches easily this season.
Indeed, we demonstrated a bit of both. The only difference was that the visitors became more direct, and once their substitutions kicked in, the game shifted completely. They had five shots to our three and enjoyed 64% of possession. The fans in the North-East corner must have felt hard done by, not leaving with three points in the bag.
Burnley finally broke through in the 77th minute, and it was a moment of real quality. They had been knocking on our door for most of the second half, and while we did an incredible job holding them off, Anthony, their left-winger, forced his way through on the left flank. He beat Coyle twice before accurately swinging in a cross that Zian Flemming directed into the bottom-right corner. Cue pandemonium in the away corner.
It was squeaky bum time, and the atmosphere in the stadium shifted from ecstasy to silence as the final ten minutes approached. In the home end we had our hands on our heads in the last minute of the game. Burnley passed the ball around neatly on the right before Brownhill drove into the box and lifted the ball to Anthony, who was practically on the goal line. Thankfully, he scuffed it, missing the ball and falling on his arse.
A solid performance overall, and it was a pleasure to see such a resilient team, despite the odds being against us. Suffice it to say, if we play like this against the next four teams before the break (Derby away, Portsmouth at home, Oxford away, and West Brom at home), we should be able to pick up some points and move up the table. I will be travelling to Pride Park on Saturday, but I am feeling very ambivalent.
