SOBS V HULL (LEAGUE CUP)
The Lads came out on top in the battle of the felines thanks to Talbi's sweet finish midway through the second half. A much-changed side gave the squad a chance to impress and they looked pretty decent. To be honest, I've no idea how far this was from the Hull City's first XI but the sides produced an open and fairly entertaining evening.
Lining up:
Ellborg
Hume O'Nien (c) Alderete Methalie
Rigg Ahoka
Ta Bi Talbi Fofana
...and gotta bench of Moore, Meunier, Proctor, Tutierov, Browne, Ballard, Whitaker, J. Jones, and Sadiki
We kicked off north towards a noisy visiting contingent who had produced a passable effort of Wise Men Say. We more than matched that as the game started but the 25,000 crowd emphasised the status of the competition these days, fourth out of four, and that was reflected by the home noise. There's only so much money in our pockets. I'll admit to being a bit confused by their kit, which, socks apart, was the same as last season's away SAFC outfit but that's just me forgetting that we were at home. Doh!
An early Trai Hume tackle gave them a chance to show off their long throw, which Melker Ellborg caught. Luke O'Nien tangled with his man in our box, the referee waved play on, then Jocelin Ta Bi was fouled and O'Nien's "victim" received lengthy treatment. At this point, the lights got brighter (European requirement?) then we were off with our free kick. Malick Fofana was showing his quick feet on the left whilst Ta Bi was putting himself about on the other side with Chemsdine Talbi occupying an unaccustomed central role and, behind him, Jules Ahoka looked very comfy alongside Chris Rigg. Our right winger put in a cross that was tipped over the bar to win us a corner but we couldn't convert it.
It was pretty lively without the goalkeepers being forced into saves until about 30 minutes in when Talbi had a run and shot that was saved, then Ahoka blasted one over from distance with five to go to the break. In the melee that had led up to it dropping to our new boy, Wilson Isidor must have had a bang in the guts, as he threw up. Something I've seen in Sunday morning football (several times) but not the professional game. Someone mopped it up and squirted disinfectant on it, and Isidor went off for a little lie down and some Rennies. Four added minutes were announced as Hull won another corner and we didn't get the ball out of our half until the whistle went. Mind, Hull didn't look like a scoring either.
Level at the break was about right, they'd had corners but nothing on target. There was a sprinkler right by Issy's deposit and we wondered if anything untoward was being blown up in the air. The half had seen the new Lads play as if they were old comrades, which was good to see, but we just needed to get more efforts on target. No changes for us for the second half but they replaced Nobel Mendy with John Egan, formerly of our youth set-up. Yet another foul on TB gave him whack on the ankle with the free kick leading to a succession of corners and the eventual header from a half clearance landing on the top of the net. A 50-yard run down our left won another corner as we, as usual, had upped our pace and pressed them back. Rigg curled a free over the far angle, then after a foul on TB right on the edge of the box, we played it square to Fofana but for once he took an extra touch and was blocked. Have you not seen your own YouTube highlights, man!
Three more Hull substitutes appeared just before the hour, injecting a bit more urgency to their play, and Luke was carded for ending a break with a pull 30 yards from Ellborg. The free was parried to his left by our 'keeper, keeping out their first (and only) effort on target, and we got it out for a throw. Off went Methalie, who looks a good signing, and on came Thomas Meunier with Hume going to the left. Yet another Hull corner, there'd been far too many for comfort, was dealt with and, when we got it near halfway up the pitch, Meunier popped it over the defence and set Talbi away in a race he was always going to win. Sprinting from halfway, his marker just couldn't keep up and, from the edge of the box, Chems dinked it over the 'keeper's right shoulder and into the Roker End net. A lovely finish that gave us something to defend for the remaining 20 minutes.
Another foul on TB brought a yellow and the free set Issy away but his shot from the right was way wide, however, Fof trapped it on the line and whipped in a cross only for the header to be saved. Not a particularly powerful header but it was on target. A foul, with 15 minutes to go, allowed us to make more changes as Alan Browne replaced Fofana in a like-for-like swap (only joking) and Timur Tutierov replaced Issy. Young Timur chased everything in the final third which kept Hull back for a while and, when it bounced nicely, he shot over from an awkward angle. Former Lad Joe Geldhart found himself free two yards from our goal to meet a free but somehow managed to hit a Hull fan, rather than the target. A Hull corner, aye there were loads, was cleared and Talbi was away down the left but pulled up with cramp.
On came young Tom Proctor (number 77 to add to Tutierov at 57) but a goal kick saw Omar Alderete again being sloppy at getting it out and there was another corner. Having got that away, The Tigers upended TB yet again, I don't think I've seen a Sunderland player be fouled as many times in a game. Of their 17 offences, there must have been nearly double figures on our jinky chap. Young Proctor then decided that he was going to make sure we gave nothing away, running the ball into dead ends in their half. Ahoka, after a quiet period, came back to life and won a few important headers and tackles. He likes a tackle but let's say he's young and needs some Hume coaching.
There were another pair of Hull corners either side of five added minutes being announced and Rigg put in a tired tackle to concede a free. We cleared that and, guess what? They fouled TB again and got booked for it. Into the hat or whatever receptacle they pull balls from these days, meaning that we're still fighting on four fronts. The team, second string or not, showed that our squad has been carefully put together to manage those four fronts. We managed 14 shots, four on target, and that bodes well for the squad, although conceding a dozen corners could be improved on.
Man of the Match? It's a choice between those who produced lovely stuff in numerous patches and those who put in 90 minutes of graft and effectiveness. We'd seen Fofana at Brentford and we liked what we saw. Tonight was the same. Ahoka looked comfy, as did Methalie. Ta Bi gave them all sorts of grief so they kicked him a lot but he just got back up. Fine game, young man! Talbi did more than prove a point and I'm glad he's going nowhere. However, just for commanding his position in straightforward style for the duration, I'll give it to Riggy. Feel free to disagree, it's part of the fun.
