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Hull City recorded a comfortable 2-0 win over Birmingham City at the MKM Stadium which left Blues boss Lee Bowyer seething at the full-time whistle.
Birmingham’s afternoon was significantly hampered by a poor refereeing decision that allowed the home side to get a foothold in the game.
The less than contentious moment arrived on 17 minutes as Ryan Longman skipped past Riley McGree and advanced towards the byline.
Hull’s midfielder overran the ball out of play by a good yard, but as the proceedings almost momentarily stopped, the whistle did not come from referee Anthony Harrington.
Longman had the presence of mind to play to the whistle, and as he cut the ball back, George Honeyman opened the scoring with the simplest of tap ins.
Lee Bowyer was booked for his protests as the decision incensed his players and the travelling contingent from Birmingham. The moment led to further indiscipline as Gary Gardner was sent off for a headbutt on Josh Magennis before the break.
It was a lacklustre showing by the visitors who had given themselves a mountain to climb but were unfortunate not to grab an equaliser through Scott Hogan. Deeney pickpocketed Honeyman in midfield before setting his strike partner through on goal, but Chelsea loanee Nathan Baxter made an excellent save to preserve his side’s lead.
Birmingham fans continued to barrack the officials and goalkeeper Baxter was on the receiving end of some unsavoury behaviour in the second period. He was pelted with bottles from the stands as the game began to drift away from the visitors and frustration boiled over.
Blues boss Bowyer contained his anger during his post-match interview and accepted the punishment coming their way. However, he could not defend the officials and it was the latest decision that has gone against his side.
“It’s just not acceptable. The thing that bugs me the most is that in the last two games I have had a letter and an email apologising that we should have had a penalty against Bristol City, an email saying we apologise that Reading’s second goal shouldn’t have stood in the last game and we should have had a free-kick in the build-up – it was a blatant foul on one of our players.
“Then today, one million per cent I am going to get another email apologising again. Saying sorry that the first goal was over the line and should not have stood. Then they had the audacity to book me. What do you want me to do? Am I just going to walk off and say that is acceptable? It wasn’t even close. It is not acceptable.
“My players get punished; Gary Gardner will get a four-game ban and a massive fine. He is going to get punished because he made a mistake. What is happening to the officials every week? I am talking three games on the spin, what happens? Nothing, nothing happens.
“There should be VAR to help them. Look at the reward to go from this division to the Premier League, the reward is massive. Bournemouth, Fulham, they are going to get 100-odd million for getting into the Premier League and you are telling me that this reward doesn’t deserve the same decisions as the Premier League”?
Once the Tigers had gotten themselves ahead, Gardner’s sending off strengthened their resolve after an already improved start at home. Honeyman had set the tone with his early running and Hull had opportunities to take the lead before their opener.
Keane Lewis-Potter should have done better after Longman’s cross as he tamely headed over the bar whilst Mallik Wilks was inches away from connecting with an impressive Jacob Greaves delivery into the box.
Lewis-Potter, who had been deployed as a wing-back once more, put in a disciplined display but produced a moment of magic to seal Hull’s win on 57 minutes. Facing up against another makeshift defender, Jeremie Bela, the youngster twisted past marker before standing the ball up to the far post for Wilks to nod home from close range.
Although his manager, Grant McCann, is not one for singling individual players out, he had special praise for his Hull-born youngster in how he has adapted between positions so far this season.
“He’s playing centre half on Wednesday! Keane can play anywhere, you know, he’s that good. We gave him the freedom and position (and Ryan Longman) today to go and play in between the lines and don’t just be stuck to the wings. They were both free in their movements and it was good to see”.
McCann himself welcomed his side’s second successive win, their first time this season, and has shown flexibility in his approach to freshening things up. Hull’s boss has adopted a 3-5-2 formation to good effect which has helped secure both of their home wins this season.
To a man, it was the Tigers’ most comprehensive display since the opening day and his decision to switch to a back three paid dividends as they matched Bowyer’s set-up.
With Greaves’ and Di’Shon Bernard’s ability to carry the ball out of defence with Longman and Lewis-Potter offering attacking impetus on either flank, the formation didn’t compromise the hosts’ style to get on the front foot.
Richie Smallwood, anchoring the Hull midfield, has led by example in recent weeks. The skipper was instrumental in winning second balls and shielding his young defence which saw his manager give him a lot of praise.
“He’s an unbelievable guy. The way he goes about his life and how he conducts himself every single day is a pleasure to work with. I spoke to Tony Mowbray (Blackburn Rovers boss) about Richie Smallwood. He had two pictures up at his training ground, one of Richie Smallwood, who’s the warrior and one of Bradley Dack who’s the artist and for me, that tells you everything about him. Richie just leads by example in everything he does.”
With a visit to Cardiff in midweek and then entertaining Millwall next Saturday, Hull are coming into a patch of more winnable looking fixtures. With players returning from injury and looking more like the confident side promoted last season, things are looking up on Humberside.
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