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Hull City are on the verge of securing automatic promotion to the Championship after coming back from a goal down to beat plucky Fleetwood Town 2-1 at the KCOM stadium.
Without the influential George Honeyman, missing through injury, City had to find another way to keep their momentum going on a key afternoon in League One.
With Peterborough United equalling their points tally on Friday evening, there was added pressure for the Tigers to produce the goods and for an hour of yesterday’s proceedings, Honeyman’s energy was a notable absence in the hosts’ midfield.
Make no mistake, for 45 minutes, Fleetwood Town had edged the battle over a Hull side that were looking a little lost without Honeyman with Wes Burns, Barrie McKay and Kyle Vassell all causing problems for the City backline.
Simon Grayson’s side had started brightly, and when Burns easily beat Callum Elder in the 22nd minute, his cutback found Vassell with an easy tap in to put the Cod Army ahead to take a shock lead against the automatic promotion hopefuls.
It was the last thing City needed as they were still trying to find a way to get into their rhythm. Grant McCann spoke that his half-time team talk was about remaining calm and patient in continuing to follow a process that has kept Hull on a clear trajectory to promotion in recent months.
Having seen a second Fleetwood goal harshly ruled out for offside, the warning sign had been heeded and it was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man as Greg Docherty went up the gears in a sterling second-half performance.
The ‘Doc’, who has been in excellent form since the turn of the year, was in no mood to let anybody’s absence spoil his afternoon, and with or without Honeyman, the 24-year-old Scot demonstrated that his influence in the team is just as important.
Not only does Docherty provide the perfect foil for the City defence with his concentration levels, ability to press the opposition and win second balls, but his quality with the ball at his feet has also gotten stronger game by game.
With four goals and five assists prior to going into the Fleetwood game, the 24-year-old showed once more that his all-action approach takes some matching.
Whether it’s short first touch passing or long balls to switch the play, Docherty can mix it up when required and his dribbling skills are also not to be sniffed at.
One marauding run in the second period saw him carry the ball from deep and down to the Fleetwood byline, skilfully beating Wes Burns in the process, in a run that had almost mirrored Fleetwood’s opener.
Only an unfortunate slip from Josh Magennis at the decisive moment had prevented him from making a better connection from a chance that had been handed on a plate to him from Docherty’s pull back.
Northern Irishman Magennis, who was beginning to look a little frustrated with events channelled that energy to pull City right back into things in the 61st minute. When a moment of magic was required, Docherty was on hand once more to conjure up a winning trick.
Picking the ball up just inside his own half, the midfielder drove into Fleetwood territory before slipping Magennis in on goal with a delightful slide-rule pass which the striker finished without hesitation. It was the forward’s 15th goal of the season and arguably the biggest of his campaign with news filtering through that Sunderland were trailing at Blackpool.
Following his arrival from Rangers in the summer, Docherty’s performances in Hull’s midfield have been pivotal in keeping his team at arm’s length from their promotion rivals.
His sheer determination and unwillingness to not let games pass him by were fully evident yesterday. His second-half showing, in particular, was full of drive and energy, and almost that of a man possessed in ensuring his teammates were not going to leave the KCOM with anything less than three points.
Keane Lewis-Potter, who had given centre-back James Hill a torrid time all afternoon, belied his years with a mature performance, showing faith in his ability to produce the goods when the time mattered.
Whilst in the first-half, the 20-year-old had fashioned his side some good opportunities in the Fleetwood box, his unselfishness to find a teammate rather than shoot hadn’t paid off but a greater sense of responsibility in the second period gave him just reward.
Having already had a goal disallowed, the youngster bravely met Dan Crowley’s pinpoint cross with a delightful header that flew past Alex Cairns in the Fleetwood goal after 70 minutes.
It was a pleasing moment for Crowley too, who’d had a quiet afternoon until providing the key opportunity of the game. Whilst he’s still to win over the City fanbase, the Birmingham City loanee’s contribution was vital as he won the ball back before firing over the perfect cross to secure victory.
With automatic promotion almost sealed for McCann’s men and despite not being at their best, they grounded out a win when only results matter at this stage of the season.
“We upped our game a little bit in the second half but we still weren’t where we wanted to be with our performance. However, what this group does have – and we’ve shown it on a number of occasions – is the ability to come back and drive on to win games. That’s what we saw today in terms of the attitude and the togetherness to come back and win the game.” – Grant McCann
If City can secure a win over Sunderland and with other results going their way, the Tigers could well be popping the champagne as early as Tuesday evening.
It’s a case of getting the job done now for McCann’s men and with an 11-point gap between themselves and third place, only a cataclysmic implode is going to stop City from returning to the Championship at the first time of asking.
Sunderland, Lincoln City, Wigan and Charlton are going to be no pushovers in their remaining four outings but there are no signs of Hull relenting, McCann’s Tigers are hungry for success. Yesterday was a test of their resolve and finding a way to win without one of their star men, was a big step taken. To coin a phrase from the 1980’s Rocky movie franchise, City have found the eye of the tiger.
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