LFL: HULL

This wasn’t a memorable game but Talbi’s winning goal was one to remember. This was obviously something of a practice match but it’s always good to win and I think we deserved it on the whole. It’s always nice to progress in cup competitions. 

BEFORE

Last year we made an ignominious exit from this competition at the first stage when we lost at home to Huddersfield so I'm hoping for better things this evening. No doubt we'll see a much-changed side from that which started against Brentford and it'll be good to see players like Fofana have a decent run-out. Hull have had a great start to their first season back in the top flight and haven't conceded a goal yet but they too will probably be rotating their players. We might even see our ex-players Paddy McNair and Joe Gelhardt get a run-out. I won't be at the game as I'm back in London but I'm planning to enjoy it in the company of other members of the London Branch. Match prediction: 2-1 to us.

I got the team-news on the tube on the way over to our link-up and there were even bigger changes than I’d expected as none of those who started on Saturday were featuring at all except for Ballard, Sadiki and Meunier, who were all on the bench. The nine subs from Saturday i.e Ellborg, Ahoka, Alderete, Fofana, Hume, Isidor, Methalie, O’Nien and Rigg were all starting with the addition of Ta Bi and Talbi. Geldhardt was among the Hull subs. I got to the venue fifteen minutes before kick-off and recognised a few other members of the Faithful before settling down in a good spot.

There were more people in the stadium than I’d expected with a good few hundred Hull fans. They must be loving how things are going for them and we know that feeling very well. Hull were playing in blue shirts and white shorts. 

THE MATCH.

In the first minute Ellborg came out a little to grab the ball confidently and that was good to see. Shortly afterwards there was what they call ‘a coming together’ in our box between Vaz and O’Nien but referee Paul Tierney wasn’t having a penalty. On seeing the replays maybe we got away with one there. Anyway, there was a hold-up in play for a few minutes while Vaz stayed down. Next thing we won the first corner but we couldn’t make anything of it or from an ensuing long throw from O’Nien. Then Hull had a chance when Ellborg was stuck in No Man’s Land but Cho’s lob went wide. We had a chance to score in the twelfth but nobody was there to get on the end of a low cross from the right. We won a corner on the left and when it came over, Ahoka got a powerful header on target but Phillips in goal saved well. We were having much more of the possession but Hull had looked sharp on their occasional breaks and they won their first corner in the nineteenth. It immediately led to another but we got that clear and were soon pressing at the other end. Overall it had been a decent first quarter of the game.

I shouldn’t have said that as the game went flat for five minutes or so with the solid Hull defence creating a barrier we couldn’t penetrate. We conceded another corner in the thirty-second but we got it clear without managing to make the swift break we could have. In the thirty-ninth we were awarded a free-kick in a good spot near the right angle of their box but it ended in a free-kick to Hull and that was that. I was looking forward to half-time so we shake things up a bit but we managed to have a couple of decent attempts, from Talbi and Ahoka, and that perked me up somewhat. Four minutes of added-time were announced and we soon conceded another corner and then Hull did most of the pressing till the half-time whistle went. There was a decent ripple from our fans but it had become pretty dull after a lively opening period.

As we restarted Egan had replaced Mendy for Hull but we hadn’t made any changes, though they’d no doubt be coming before too long. We won a corner in the forty-eighth and it led to another on the other side and immediately to yet another on the original side. From the final one Isidor got in a decent looping header but it only landed on the roof of the net. Methalie forced a corner on the left but could we make anything of it? Sadly no, as it all ended in an offside flag. Gourna became the first player to receive a yellow, for a foul, but Rigg put the resultant free-kick over the bar. We soon had another free-kick in a similar position but when the ball was passed low to Fofana he took an unnecessary touch and his eventual shot rebounded to safety. As the hour-mark approached it was definitely looking like one goal would win it or, failing that, it would go to penalties. Gelhardt came on for Crooks as Hull made a ripple-switch. O’Nien was booked for a foul and Ellborg was forced into a rare save from the free-kick. We brought on Meunier for Methalie in the sixty-fifth, and the latter had looked strong going forward. 

As we entered the final quarter the game was looking wide open and Hull soon won another corner. It went out for a throw-in to them and then to another corner. Surprisingly this led to our first goal. Fofana cleared the ball and it came to Talbi, who controlled it with his head and ran on from the half-way line before chipping it over the head of Phillips and we were in the lead. I never expected to see Talbi play for us again so this made it all the more enjoyable. Not long afterwards we had another chance when an Isidor shot looked to be going for a goal-kick on the left but Fofana did well to retrieve it and pass into the box again. Nobody could get a foot on it unfortunately but we were still pressing for a second and that was okay with me. In the seventy-ninth we made two further changes with Browne and Tutierov replacing Fofana and Isidor. Browne was another player I didn’t expect to see playing for us again, though he’d put a good shift in for us in the past. Fofana had been patchy but you could see his quality and he’d played his part in our goal. In the eighty-second Hull had heir best chance so far but Gelhardt shinned a Thomas cross over the bar from a few yards out.

Hull were enjoying a bit of a purple patch and with probably about ten minutes of play left, things were looking a bit iffy. With about five minutes on the clock we brought on Proctor for Talbi. Corners kept coming for both sides but as usual in this game no benefit came for the team taking them. Five minutes of added-time were announced and we conceded a free-kick near the right angle of our box. We escaped that and the game went from end to end till the final whistle went and we’d won.