Hull City’s terrible form continued in front of their fans.
Ruben Selles watched from the stands as the enormity of his assignment at Hull City became obvious in front of his eyes, with the Tigers losing 1-0 to Blackburn Rovers, their sixth defeat in a row in the Championship, thanks to an own goal.
Despite a promising start, City fell behind after 20 minutes when Rovers, who had scarcely entered opposition territory earlier, spotted Callum Britain inside the box and his cross cannoned off Sean McLoughlin’s leg and into the Tigers’ net.
The Tigers have now suffered six consecutive defeats, dropping to the bottom of the Championship table despite a dominant display against the in-form Lancashire club. It is now eleven games without a win, and for those watching Selles, the task of turning the Tigers around is daunting, and it must begin when Watford visit on Wednesday night.
For 80 minutes, Rovers led without a single shot on goal, although City relied on long-range attempts, primarily from Kasey Palmer’s boot, with their lack of cutting edge a major issue and a crucial cause for their current position.
Dawson made five changes to the team that lost to Boro last weekend, bringing in Ryan Giles, Charlie Hughes, Gustavo Puerta, Ryan Longman, and Chris Bedia instead of Cody Drameh, Alfie Jones, Xavier Simons, Ryan Longman, and Joao Pedro. Abu Kamara was deployed on the right side of midfield, which is his preferred position. Alfie Jones and Xavier Simons were ruled out of the squad due to injuries, while Cody Drameh, Abdus Omur, and Joao Pedro were named as substitutes.
The conditions were causing havoc for both teams, but it was the hosts, looking to get ahead early, who created the first opening when Slater, having had his pocket picked in midfield, raced back to win it on the edge of his own box, fed Palmer, who shifted it out to Longman down the left, and he cut in before shooting at keeper Ainsley Pears via a big deflection.
Chris Bedia, who had returned to the team, was shoved down 25 yards out, and on a day like this, fizzing shots from distance was critical, and Palmer did just that from the free-kick, forcing Pears to tip over the bar.
Despite dominating the early stages of the game, City conceded the first goal, going behind to a rare Rovers attack when Callum Brittain’s cross across goal met McLoughlin and cannoned into the roof of the net, leaving Pandur with no chance.
The Tigers rallied swiftly and were on the verge of equalising when Longman’s effort was spilt by Pears and Bedia’s follow-up was blocked before the visitors scrambled the ball away.
Kamara nearly made it 1-1 after neat link-up play between Slater and Giles, with Longman slicing his shot into the path of the winger at the back post, but Owen Beck made a fine block to deny him, though his effort lacked conviction, and City, and then Palmer’s low drive was well held by Pears.
City were dominant in the first half, with nine shots on goal and five on target to Blackburn’s zero, but the lack of quality in front of goal was once again a concern, which Selles will need to address immediately.
Dawson made a double substitution shortly after the hour mark, replacing Longman and Puerta with Mason Burstow and Steven Alzate, just minutes after Palmer passed Bedia inside the box, but he absolutely froze and lost the ball.
Rovers made their first change at 66 minutes in, with Amario Cozier-Duberry replacing Dolan. Hughes received a yellow card on his return from suspension for a foul he probably needed to commit after giving the ball away, and Yuki Ohashi followed him into the book.
With just over 15 minutes remaining, Palmer and Bedia were replaced by Joao Pedro and Abdus Omur, with the home crowd anticipating Palmer’s departure because he appeared to be the most likely to create an opportunity.
As the game came to a close, Beck was booked for arguing over a throw in. Marvin Mehlem replaced Kamara, and Hughes blasted inches wide from distance, leaving the home fans to reminisce on another heartbreaking afternoon at the MKM Stadium.
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