Hull 0-0 Coventry

The rescheduled late kick-off meant I was able to make this game, as I landed early from St Lucia in the morning and got back into Hull in the afternoon. However, I wish I had stayed at home, as not only was it a goalless draw, but I was also exhausted. Nonetheless, like a dedicated Hull City fan, I watched it from my seat. I will not dwell on the details, but instead summarise the game as a whole.

Sergej made five changes from the draw against Oxford (a side we should be beating, considering they are on the road to relegation) on Good Friday. In came Pandur, Egan, Amir, Collyer and Millar. Out went Phillips, Hughes, Lundstram, Joseph and Belloumi. That meant, in a 4-2-3-1 formation, we lined up as follows: Pandur between the sticks; Drameh, Ajayi, Egan and Coyle as the back four; Collyer and Amir as defensive midfielders; Gelhardt, Crooks and Millar as the attacking trio; with McBurnie leading the line.

A point against league leaders Coventry was magnificent. They have been the most consistent and victorious side, leading the table for nearly the entire season. Holding the best away record, this was always going to be a difficult game, especially as we have not been playing well recently, chalking up just two wins in our last six games. We are also slipping in the top six, as the gap between us and seventh continues to shrink every week. If Southampton and Wrexham win their game in hand, there would be only one point between us being in the top six or missing out completely. That meant we had to be up to the mark today; thankfully, we were.

I only watched the first half on Friday, but we seemed bereft of spirit and energy, especially once we conceded the penalty. Today, we had more about us and played some of our strongest football. It was open and end-to-end, as both sides knew the importance of the encounter. We started better in the first half, as Coventry were struggling to create anything. They were giving the ball away cheaply, which we were able to capitalise on. Despite not having anything to show for it, we had the most shots (seven to their four) and the best chance. This came in the 15th minute: Amir’s dangerous cross into the box saw Carl Rushworth (formerly of this parish) fail to claim it, allowing the ball to drop freely. With the loose ball falling to Egan, his shot was cleared off the line by Liam Kitching. Coventry saw a couple of shots drag wide of the post.

It was the same story in the second half, but we managed to limit them to only two shots, with neither hitting the target. Although we had 43% possession, we managed to dominate the half as we used the ball well. We were also fighting and pressing effectively, which was a promising sight. Have we finally realised we have a chance at the playoffs? The only area we struggled in was scoring. We did come close twice: in the 55th minute, Millar’s smart overlap and cross into the box was headed by Gelhardt, but it was too tame. Then, in the 62nd minute, another cross by Millar was headed at the back post into the palms of their keeper. The game became slower as the minutes ticked away, with both teams sitting back and settling for the draw.

With Millwall and Middlesbrough dropping points, a draw for the Sky Blues was brilliant, as they only needed four more points to secure guaranteed promotion to the top flight. For us, we respect the point given the opponent we played, but we really needed to beat Oxford, as we needed four points from six. Nevertheless, our next two opponents are fighting at the bottom end of the table, so it should be a certain six points. First up: Sheffield United (17th) away. I won’t be going to this, as I did not manage to get tickets while away. I will be going to Leicester (22nd) away in two weeks, where I hope to see us edge closer to a guaranteed playoff spot.