Pre-match
There were three changes to the starting line-up from last Sunday – Elano was back in for Darius Vassell, who dropped to the bench, Felipe Caicedo started in the Barclays Premier League for the first time in place of Benjani, while Robinho was back to add some cutting edge after getting over his ankle injury – Gelson Fernandes was a substitute.
The match
Not surprisingly there was a nice ovation for Geovanni on his return to CoMS, our fans still grateful for his winning goal in the derby in August last year.
Zayatte caused confusion in his own area by failing to clear in the first minute, his ball out going straight to Stephen Ireland. He quickly laid it into the path of Felipe Caicedo, but with the crowd baying for him to shoot he found Robinho on the left, whose curling shot did not trouble Myhill.
Elano strolled into space two minutes later, but with Robinho and Caicedo in good positions he looked to be set to shoot when hauled down on the edge of the box – but Andre Marriner did not think it was a free kick. Hull attacked straight away, and Joe Hart was forced to save when Marlon King went for goal after breaking into the box.
An enterprising start continued, with Ireland firing over with a first-time volley from a corner, and Robinho also forcing a corner on the other side after shooting from a tight angle. Caicedo’s impressive recent impressive vein of form continued, the big Ecuadorian harrying a Hull defence who were maybe not too aware of his capabilities.
And the former Basle striker, signed at the very end of last January’s transfer window, finally chalked up a goal that could not be taken away from him on 15 minutes. Dunne broke out of defence and sensibly found Robinho. He lifted the ball over to Ireland who crossed across the face of goal, and Felipe Caicedo could not miss from a yard out .
Robinho went close two minutes later, seeing a goal-bound shot palmed away by Myhill after a few trademark stepovers.
The pair that had set up the first goal repeated the trick on 26 minutes, Ireland latching on to a poor clearance in defence to slide the ball across the goal just like before, and Felipe Caicedo was on hand to strike it home with his left foot.
We were still looking at the replays when City went three up. Robinho burst into space, but after being closed down he fooled the defence by slipping the ball onto his right foot and immediately placing it past Myhill and into the far right hand corner. The mayhem nearly continued shortly after, when Caicedo spurned the chance for a hat-trick, hammering a header straight at Myhill.
Hull, no doubt stunned, did manage to get forward and win a free kick, which predictably was taken by Geovanni and superbly saved by Hart, low to his right.
But City went even further ahead after just 35 minutes, and it was Robinho on target again as once more a cross from the right unlocked Hull’s defence. Elano chipped the ball over to SWP, who broke down the flank and crossed, the fit-again Brazilian number 10 almost walking the ball home.
There was nearly a fifth on 39 minutes, SWP’s shot from outside the box bringing a fine save out of the shellshocked Myhill. SWP also went close in stoppage time, getting inside McShane to go one-on-one with Myhill, but he put his shot badly wide. Hardly anyone (apart from Hull) wanted half-time to come, but Phil Brown showed his feelings by giving his players a very public dressing-down right in front of the travelling support.
SWP had yet another good chance with 53 on the clock, but this time Doyle got his foot in the way just in the nick of time.
The second half, almost inevitably, had the feeling of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ about it, with the four-goal cushion giving a lot of comfort to the Blues, while the Tigers had a lot of possession without causing Joe Hart too many problems. Geovanni came off with 20 minutes left, getting his second big ovation of the day and showing his gratitude.
SWP had another opportunity with 17 minutes to go, shooting for the near post from outside the box but seeing his effort fizz past the corner of post & bar. Lady Luck smiled on Hull with 11 minutes left, when Elano’s free kick from distance struck the post having taken a wicked deflection off the wall with Myhill stranded. The Tigers made the most of this slice of good fortune by reducing the arrears by one, Craig Fagan poking it home from close range after Hart had not held Cousin’s cross.
But the four-goal lead was restored within seconds, Stephen Ireland finding Robinho, who eventually rolled it back into the Irishman’s path for him to slam it home from inside the area. Stephen’s rise to the status of fans’ favourite was underlined by the ovations he received when being replaced by Fernandes and when being announced as Thomas Cook Man of the Match.
Results elsewhere combined with this fine win saw City move out of the bottom three and go up into 15th place.
