On Saturday, Hull City’s worrisome lack of consistency showed itself once more as Swansea City, who have lost all of their games under Luke Williams, defeated the uninspired Tigers 1-0.
The game was virtually gone when Liam Cullen deflected Josh Tymon’s corner beyond Ryan Allsop in the eleventh minute. The ease with which the Swans won must have taken Williams by surprise, as it did for Liam Rosenior, as City seldom posed any threat—Ozan Tufan’s header in the first half being their closest.
When the Tigers travel to Rotherham United on Tuesday night and then travel to Huddersfield Town on Saturday for back-to-back Yorkshire derbies, Rosenior will be looking for his team to respond.
It might have been too much to expect City to win three straight games considering that they haven’t gone more than three games without a loss since the season’s beginning.
Rosenior’s side may be amusing at times as well as frustrating to watch. They have such streaks. One victory, two losses, two victories, and so forth.
Although it is there for City, no one in the Championship appears to desire to secure sixth place. They would suddenly have some breathing room if they could string together four or five games without losing, but their inconsistency is ultimately going to be their undoing.
The lack of striker – and lack of threat
In an attempt to counter Swansea’s pressuring style, Rosenior rested his attacker once more, but it was ineffective. The visitors’ play was controlled by the central defenders because there was no threat inside the penalty area, no focal point, and nobody to occupy them.
Rosenior went all in, pushing for a way back into the game, and finished up with two players on the field chasing the game in Billy Sharp and Aaron Connolly. He had began the game without a center-forward. In the event that Connolly is deemed unfit to start, Sharp made a difference and needs to start on Tuesday.
With Noah Ohio and Sharp and Connolly back in the lineup on Tuesday, all he needs to do is figure out how to integrate a striker back into his lineup.
They need to demonstrate their attacking prowess, as the team currently has an abundance of it. And they just haven’t in the previous two games. Nine shots on goal in each game and five on goal overall is, to put it mildly, appalling. These are the kinds of statistics you would expect from a team that is towards the bottom of the league, not one that is trying to move up, particularly against two other teams that are also there.
Even if City’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland was secured without the services of several attacking players, the team has managed just 20 shots on goal and seven on target in the previous three games. Nevertheless, the inability to create has become an issue.
This squad is up against a bit of a barrier. After two solid 1-0 victories, City has not won three straight in Rosenior’s 15 months in command. Therefore, facing a struggling team at home should have been a great opportunity going into this one.
It never appeared that this would be the third straight win at the beginning of the match. Swansea were full value and the response was lacklustre even after the score.
Rosenior did not discuss the lack of three consecutive victories in his group prior to the game, but it is starting to become a problem and indicates that there is a consistency problem in terms of stringing together a sizable number of triumphs, back-to-back, which needs to be addressed.
Missing Mika
From the beginning to the end, City dominated the midfield. Matt Grimes, a player Rosenior has previously emphasised, dominated play and prevented Slater or Morton from making an impression. Morton seemed a little bewildered after receiving a first-half booking and was unable to play his typical aggressive style.
The ability to take the ball off the back four and shift it simply wasn’t there, and Seri’s comeback cannot come soon enough. That bite was missing from the game.
Strength in numbers
This season, and even last season, it has been uncommon for Liam Rosenior to have a nearly full strength squad on a matchday at Hull City. Just Liam Delap and Jean Michael Seri were absent during the Tigers’ match against the Swans; with the Ivory Coast star’s return, that number will have been cut in half when the Tigers visit Huddersfield the following weekend.
Rosenior’s options are increased by the return of Aaron Connolly, Adama Traore, and Cyrus Christie. Although Traore and Christie are back to full strength, it’s Connolly’s comeback that truly jumps out. Rosenior’s has been without a central frontman since he hasn’t been available, which has caused City to miss him in the last several games.
He can at least make a start on Tuesday night with those possibilities, but as we’ve already discussed, he really cannot afford to open the game without a striker.
Fortunately for City, they won’t have to wait long for another one following one as awful as that one. Rosenior’s team has to win this game because Rotherham United is currently at the bottom of the table and was just humiliated against Leeds.
Sure, we may simulate the typical games, like the Yorkshire derby, when they have to battle for their lives, but let’s call a spade a spade. After this performance, City needs to win this game; anything less won’t suffice.
Playing away from home against a side headed for relegation in front of a sold-out away fans, Rosenior needs to respond after such a lacklustre performance.
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