3 things Hull City will have clearly learnt following Friday night’s 3-1 win v Stoke.
On Friday night, Hull City defeated Stoke City 3-1 at the Bet365 Stadium to score their first victory of the 2024–25 season, much to the relief of everyone connected to the team.
Tim Walter was already under pressure following a lacklustre start to the season, with rumours circulating that the German coach would lose his job if the Tigers failed to win, but a near faultless second half display has undoubtedly relieved some of the strain.
Ben Wilmot’s own goal, a goal from Kyle Palmer, and a goal from Ryan Slater absolutely turned the tide in the Potteries, demonstrating the extent to which this new-look City team can play when they are clicking. However, the team has yet to take the lead in any competitive fixture under the 48-year-old.
Naturally, there were still areas where the performance could have been better. Nevertheless, Hull will have learnt THREE things from their season-opening victory.
Even though there was some progress in this area in comparison to Sheffield United’s 2-0 home loss, Hull cannot afford to keep beginning games slowly.
The first few minutes of play were quite poor for both teams, with the away team failing to score with six of their seven attempts going wide.
Furthermore, even though they saw the majority of the ball, defensive flaws were occasionally visible once it was lost. Players like Lewis Koumas, Bae Jun-Ho, Tom Cannon, and Million Manhoef allowed time and space to break with ease, although Ivor Pandur was only forced into a save on one occasion.
As Wilmot scored at the right end to give Stoke a well-earned lead, Hull were actually fortunate to be in the game at halftime, as Manhoef wasted a fantastic chance that would have given the visitors a mountain to climb.
Even though Walter’s team showed a lot of improvement in the second half in terms of resiliency and quality, he will still need to improve on this one area of the game plan before facing Cardiff City at home the following Saturday.
Next weekend, Liam Millar should start against Cardiff City due to his effect.
Some were surprised that Liam Millar wasn’t used right away on Friday night, considering that he has been City’s best wide player thus far in the campaign, including the most advanced carries of any Championship player.
Furthermore, the Canadian’s introduction completely flipped the balance, causing Junior Tchamadeu turmoil from the start, after taking Abdus Omur’s place at halftime.
| Liam Millar’s Stats – Stoke City 1-3 Hull City | Total |
|---|---|
| Minutes Played | 45 |
| Touches | 46 |
| Pass Completion Ratio | 84% |
| Key Passes | 1 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Successful Dribbles | 2 |
| Ground Duels Won | 6 |
| Average Rating | 7.3 |
| All Stats as per Sofascore | |
Because of Millar’s directness, Hull was able to move up the pitch at a much faster pace than they had in the first half. He also provided the assist for Slater’s goal in the 76th minute, which gave the Tigers the lead, and had an 84% pass completion ratio while playing in a link-up with players like Palmer and Cody Drameh.
Despite starting on the bench in the two Friday night matches, the former Liverpool youngster has done more than enough to regain his starting spot. He has won six duels and completed two of three dribbles, which will give his boss plenty to consider when it comes to next week’s selection.
For the new look, Regan Slater still has a role to perform. Hull City
Slater, who replaced the injured player and scored a crucial goal, should be commended for his aggressive play style, which also significantly altered the viewpoint of the game.
Once more, Hull’s midfield was hardly used in the opening 45 minutes. Slater and Xavier Simons were somewhat pushed into the game due to Oscar Zambrano’s injury, but their contributions were crucial in assisting City in consistently regaining possession higher up the field and denying players like Wouter Burger and Jordan Thompson much time and space on the ball.
The former Sheffield United player has also been under fire lately, but it was clear that the first half was significantly worse without him. He proved this by winning one ground duel, making an important pass, and completing 83% of his passes in just 32 minutes.
Walter has never shied away from making big adjustments during games, and to be fair to the German, many of his in-game substitutions have paid off. This suggests that the 25-year-old will probably start against the Bluebirds from the opening whistle next Saturday.
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