Fortune favours the brave as Hull City shine in front of new owner

Hull City ran out deserved 2-0 winners over second-placed Blackburn Rovers on a special night in Humberside.

In front of watching new owner Acun Ilıcalı, the Tigers’ spirited performance heralded a new era at the club.

Goals from George Honeyman and Tom Eaves were enough to put Rovers to the sword, but it was tactically where Hull got everything right on the night.

With the pressure of taking on one of the division’s in-form sides and following a depressing performance in the weekend’s home defeat to Stoke City, Grant McCann may have been forgiven for implementing a more cautious approach.

Considering his striking options have been vastly reduced in recent weeks and with his own future uncertain, the Hull City manager still went with his insistence of no compromise on his attacking philosophy.

Turkish media mogul Ilıcalı, introduced to the home support following weeks of anticipation, drew unprecedented approval from the fans. A sound of relief and excitement filled the MKM Stadium as the new owner proudly lifted his amber and black scarf above his head in the centre circle.

It was an evening that demanded a fitting performance and Ilıcalı will know all too well about entertainment. If this was the opening curtain, there is plenty more for fans to be excited about.

Not that Hull’s manager would have approached this game any differently as it was very much a case of who dares wins.

Adopting a 3-2-4-1 formation, employing two number 10’s in Honeyman and Keane Lewis-Potter to play off Tom Eaves, this was a setup prepared to go toe-to-toe with Blackburn and then some.

Whilst Randell Williams and Ryan Longman may be seen as wing-backs on paper, those positions in Hull’s setup are predominantly there to maximise the attributes of the players occupying those spots with the duo not defensively-minded players.

Adding Lewis-Potter into that mix also, having featured in that position recently, has been a bold tactic to employ, given Hull’s recent promotion and position in the league table.

The engine room and combativeness of both Greg Docherty and Richie Smallwood kept Blackburn at bay. Their energy only intensified as the game wore on, typified by Docherty as he roared to the crowd having forced Ben Brereton Diaz into conceding possession in the dying moments.

However, the key to the system was the role of the frontman. Eaves, who has had his detractors but since developed a cult status at the club, put in a superb performance at the front of the Hull attack and was well worthy of picking up his Man of the Match award.

The former Gillingham man set the standards for his evening with a sublime piece of skill in the early moments as he collected a looping ball on the volley with a Cruyff-esque pivot which took him away from his marker.

Eaves’ ability to ruffle Blackburn’s defensive feathers saw him winning headers for Honeyman and Lewis-Potter to link the Tigers’ forward play.

They got off to the perfect start they had hoped for, opening the scoring in the seventh minute. Some good work by Longman saw him progress with the ball towards the Rovers box, and as he found Honeyman with an incisive pass inside the area, the midfielder’s first touch enabled him the room to prod past the ball Thomas Kaminski.

The MKM Stadium has not been the loudest of stadiums in the Championship this season, but with fans coming to the game to welcome their new Turkish owner, Honeyman had well and truly lighted the blue touch paper.

However, it did come with its risks as Hull’s approach encouraged Rovers on, and although the visitors were poor for the opening quarter, Tony Mowbray’s men soon got into their stride and could have been level by the break on another evening.

Reda Khadra looked to have been denied a clear penalty as he was bundled over by Di’Shon Bernard and the defender rubbed salt in the wound with a magnificent clearance to deny Blackburn’s number seven once more after Nathan Baxter got caught coming out to clear a long ball.

As Khadra steadied himself to put the ball into the empty net, Bernard showed tremendous agility to get himself into a recovering position to deflect the ball wide of the post.

Sensing that they were always going to get opportunities, Rovers started the second half on the front foot and pressed Hull back. Despite a period of sustained pressure and intense support from those that had made the journey from Blackburn, the visitors could not get themselves level. As that energy inevitably waned, it was the Tigers that took full advantage.

Longman’s searching cross to the back post saw Kaminski floundering in goal, but with work still to do, Eaves leapt like a stag to rise above the goalkeeper’s flailing arms to plant a firm header into the empty net.

The decibels increased once more with fans sensing they were about to enjoy a famous win on a famous evening. The Turkish flags were swaying in the East Stand to the tune of ‘We’ve got our City back’ and the vocal support spurred the home side onto finish the game.

With Blackburn still pushing to get back into the game, Hull’s counter-attack saw Honeyman, Lewis-Potter and substitute Tyler Smith come agonisingly close to a third.

When the final whistle arrived, a club was reborn and united for the first time in years. After all, Ilıcalı may not need to make wholesale changes as he embarks on his venture into English football.

Quizzed about what he would tell the new owner if he was given the opportunity to discuss his thoughts on the manager, midfielder George Honeyman was unwavering in his support for McCann.

“I’ll tell him that he’s been through thick and thin at the club and he’s always come out stronger. I think we’ve been super successful last year and it’s the same group of lads and I’ve got every faith in them.

“The lads have given everything if you watched that performance tonight. That’s a squad that wants to play for the manager.

“Anyone in that changing room; they’d want the manager to stay and hopefully that’s the case.”

With emerging young talent and a hungry squad that is willing to run through brick walls for their manager, it is quite the accomplishment in the modern game of money and individual ambitions. With a few additions, Ilıcalı could well be onto something already.

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