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‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Hull City Match Thread on 21:15 - Dec 15 with 190 views
Hull City suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season after losing a five-goal contest with Blackpool.
Birthday boy Mallik Wilks put the Tigers in front but Jerry Yates levelled on the stroke of half-time.
Keshi Anderson powered Pool ahead and although Reece Burke’s header looked to have rescued a point, CJ Hamilton struck a winner in added time.
Grant McCann freshened up his side for the trip to Bloomfield Road, making four changes from the surprise home defeat to Shrewsbury.
In came Lewie Coyle, Regan Slater, James Scott and Tom Eaves, with Josh Emmanuel, Hakeeb Adelakun and Josh Magennis dropping to the bench and George Honeyman missing out completely.
Hull City had responded to every previous defeat with a win and started in determined mood, Jacob Greaves nodding wide from Slater’s corner inside two minutes.
Greaves was back on defensive duty to make a fine recovery challenge to thwart CJ Hamilton before Keshi Anderson’s deflected looping shot was fumbled behind by Matt Ingram.
Luke Garbutt came within a whisker of giving the Seasiders a 14th-minute lead, collecting Sullay Kaikai’s pass and drilling a left-footed strike inches wide of the far post.
The contest continued at a frenetic pace, Smallwood’s lofted pass picking out the untracked run of Scott but his touch let him down, with the forward possibly expecting an offside flag that never came.
There was an almighty scare for the visitors as Eaves inadvertently diverted the ball towards his own goal but, to his relief, Ingram clawed the ball off the line.
Scott set his sights twice from range, seeing one effort acrobatically held by Pool keeper Chris Maxwell and another drift wide after a positive surge.
Wilks was celebrating his 22ndbirthday and broke the deadlock eight minutes before the break with his ninth of the season.
Callum Elder sent an inviting low cross into the middle and Wilks took one touch to control before scooping a clever finish over Maxwell.
Neil Critchley’s side had lost once in 11 games and refused to let heads drop, Hamilton being denied by the body of Ingram after latching onto Kaikai’s through ball.
The Tigers failed to heed the warning as Blackpool pulled level on the stroke of half-time, Garbutt fizzing in a low cross which Yates powered home from close range.
Hull City flew out of the traps for the second half but Maxwell produced a spectacular one-handed stop to palm away Scott’s first-time curling effort that was heading for the top corner.
Kenny Dougall’s towering header from Garbutt’s corner landed on the roof of the net, while Wilks curled a free-kick over.
Greg Docherty’s deflected effort was held by Maxwell but the visitors were hit by a sucker punch as Pool immediately turned defence into attack.
Maxwell’s long kick released Anderson in behind and the striker powered a low finish across Ingram into the far corner to put Pool in front with 67 on the clock.
Only a lick of paint prevented the Tangerines from making it 3-1, Josh Magennis heading against his own post from Garbutt’s free-kick, with the substitute blocking a follow-up effort on the line.
Facing back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, the Tigers poured forward in search of a leveller.
And Hull City found one with a minute of normal time remaining, Burke meeting Elder’s corner with a towering header which Maxwell got a hand to but couldn’t keep out.
The Tigers’ hard work was almost undone when Hamilton was left free in the area but Ingram stood strong to block at his near post.
But that proved only a reprieve as Blackpool struck in the third minute of added time, Hamilton finding space to sweep a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Hull City Match Thread on 21:34 - Dec 15 with 181 views
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Hull City Match Thread (n/t) on 22:11 - Dec 15 with 176 views
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Hull City Match Thread on 22:17 - Dec 15 with 175 views
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Hull City Match Thread on 22:25 - Dec 15 with 168 views
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Hull City Match Thread on 11:36 - Dec 16 with 145 views
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Hull City Match Thread on 12:15 - Dec 16 with 141 views
Learning to bounce back from adversity: Matt Scrafton's verdict on Blackpool's magnificent late victory against league leaders Hull City
A month or so ago Neil Critchley made the surprising claim that Blackpool’s slow start to the season could end up working in their favour.
On the face of it, that’s hard to believe given the Seasiders found themselves second from bottom at one point, having lost an alarming number of games in a relatively short period of time. But, given what’s transpired since then, it now makes a great deal more sense.
Blackpool have suffered disappointment before, after all. It began early on, on the opening day in fact, when they somehow managed to lose at Plymouth Argyle when a draw wouldn’t have even done their dominance justice.
It continued with the home game against Lincoln, which was turned on its head late on when Blackpool went from a goal in front, to a man down and a goal down in fewer than four minutes.
There’s also the Ipswich game, when Paul Lambert’s men scored with all four shots on target, the Charlton debacle when James Husband was sent off inside 60 seconds and the utterly bizarre AFC Wimbledon defeat, when Pool still ought to have drawn despite ending the game with nine men.
Week after week, it seemed like events were conspiring against Critchley and his players.
But to achieve anything in life, more often than not you have to come through adversity. Blackpool have certainly done that and more
Even the most optimistic of Blackpool supporters couldn’t have seen a run of 10 wins in 14 games come after the defeat to Charlton in October. But in many ways, we shouldn’t be surprised either.
Even when things were going wrong, I wrote over and over again how Pool were continuing to do so much right.
Clearly, the belief among the players never wavered and out of adversity has emerged a strong group who are able to peel themselves off the canvas and bounce back from disappointment time and time again.
The proof of that was in the pudding on Tuesday night, when the Seasiders fought back from two potentially damaging setbacks to claim a dramatic, last-gasp victory against the league leaders.
Having been the better side in the opening 45 minutes, Pool found themselves going a goal down on 38 minutes in fairly innocuous fashion when Mallik Wilks hooked home after controlling Callum Elder’s left-wing cross inside the box.
But the hosts remained undeterred and took just six minutes to battle back, Jerry Yates the man to level — continuing his impressive recent scoring form with a sixth goal in 10.
It was a typical poacher’s goal, Yates sliding in unmarked at the back post to steer Luke Garbutt’s powerful cross high into the roof of the Hull net.
Prior to kick-off Hull had won 11 of their opening 16 league games, an impressive feat given the horrendous run of results that led to their relegation from the Championship last time out, having won just one of their final 20 games.
Grant McCann’s side were always going to enjoy a spell of pressure at some point and that’s exactly what happened at the start of the second period.
They had Blackpool camped in their own half for a good 15 to 20-minute spell, but for all their possession and territory, Hull struggled to convert their dominance into clear-cut openings, although Chris Maxwell did save smartly from James Scott’s curling effort.
On the hour-mark, Critchley brought Gary Madine off the bench — a change that helped swing the game in Blackpool’s favour.
The striker was in superb form, playing as if he had something to prove having been dropped to the bench. He was a battering ram, barging everything out of his way, winning his flick-ons and holding the ball up brilliantly.
The 30-year-old was instrumental in the build-up to the goal that saw Blackpool edge their noses in front.
Maxwell, showing quick thinking to punt the ball high up the pitch, picked out Madine as Hull retreated desperately after a failed attack.
Instead of holding the ball up or flicking it on, Madine simply opted to roll his marker and allow the ball to bounce past them both, giving Keshi Anderson the freedom to surge through on goal where he picked out the bottom corner with aplomb.
Blackpool were joyous and, thanks to some smart game management, looked to be coasting to a deserved three points to make it five wins from their last seven league games.
Those hopes were dashed in the 89th minute though, when Blackpool were undone from a corner and not for the first time this season. Reece Burke was the man to rise highest, nodding into the top corner beyond Maxwell’s despairing dive.
The Seasiders could have been forgiven for slumping their shoulders and staring blankly into the ground responding to their late setback. But that isn’t Blackpool’s style.
Instead, they quickly forced some late pressure, going close through CJ Hamilton who ought to have done better having been picked out in space at the back post.
But Hamilton was the last-gasp hero just seconds later, as he drilled home after a well-worked move involving substitute Ben Woodburn and yes, that man Madine. From dejection to elation in a matter of moments.
The celebrations that followed were rightfully exuberant, Maxwell even sprinting from his goal to join the pile-in. All that was lacking was a rammed Bloomfield Road to pierce your eardrum as the ball hit the back of the net.
While Blackpool fans can’t be there at the moment to witness their side’s transformation, they will know all too well what a good side the Seasiders have become.
Hull, who were surprisingly beaten by lowly Shrewsbury Town at the weekend, had always bounced back with a win in their next game when they had previously suffered disappointment. That wasn’t the case on this occasion though.
But then again, this is no ordinary side they were up against.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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