Team Focus: Late Goals the Concern as Plucky Hull's Woes Continue

It wasn’t so long ago that Hull City were dreaming of a European adventure this season. After a trip to Wembley for the FA Cup final in May, Steve Bruce had his men geared up for a qualifier against Belgian side Lokeren this season, at the expense of whom they were expected to make the Europa League group stages. It was not to be, however, and the Tigers were back to facing a mere domestic campaign after crashing out on away goals.

Nonetheless, such is the lack of reverence these days for Europe’s second competition and the increased demands it places on threadbare squads who have to deal with the Thursday-Sunday schedule that has so troubled the likes of Tottenham previously, there is certainly at least an element of elimination that would have suited Hull. A squad strengthened over the summer would have the opportunity to concentrate solely on improving on last season’s 16th place Premier League finish.

Even more recently, when the table was looking rather different to its current state, Bruce was being touted as a potential replacement for under-fire Newcastle manager Alan Pardew. The Magpies had taken just 4 points from their opening 7 matches; Hull had a relatively satisfying 9.

The Tigers have, however, gained just 2 points from their latest 5 matches, with Bruce’s attempts to shake things up after handing Burnley their first win of the season failing to produce a positive result against Tottenham this weekend. 

The performance did at least provide some positives. If it wasn’t for Gastón Ramírez’s petulance, Hull would not have had to play out the final 40 minutes of the game with only 10 men and may well have hung on to win a game that they had so far dominated. Tottenham had managed 10 shots in the opening 50 minutes and had not looked much like breaking through, but in truth, Hull have faded late in games this season and Ramírez just made their task that much harder. Spurs may well have ground them down anyway.

Bruce’s team have an average share of 45.8% possession this season (fifth lowest in the Premier League), which, in itself, is not a terrible figure for a team of their standing. However, given how easily and frequently teams scythe through them, Bruce might want to have his players work on retaining the ball a little better. His team have conceded more shots than any other team in the Premier League this season (211), at an average of 17.6 per game.

Hull have their defenders well drilled at the back, and the commitment shown by the likes of Curtis Davies, Michael Dawson and James Chester goes a long way to keeping their defensive record half decent (17 goals conceded). Hull’s players have blocked 77 shots this season, which is significantly more than any other team, and Davies (7.48) and Dawson (7.63), as the two highest-rated centre-backs in the Premier League, are key to that, and they make up the heart of the backline in WhoScored’s team of the season so far. Their dedication is certainly admirable, and to Hull it is absolutely integral, but the problem is that they are forced to take desperate measures with such frequency.

Hull have made more interceptions (223) than any other team, but it is telling that their top 3 players in this regard are their 3 first choice centre-backs. It is usually central midfielders and full-backs who make the most interceptions, with Jedinak, Rangel and Clichy leading the Premier League in this regard this season. In fact, only 4 centre-backs rank in the top 14 players for interceptions per game in England’s top tier, and 3 of them play for Hull: Davies (3.0), Dawson (2.9) and Chester (2.9).

Their central defenders simply shouldn’t be doing so much work, but with sufficient protection from midfield lacking, they have to. Opponents find space between the lines too easily, and that was apparent on Sunday against Tottenham when Roberto Soldado dropped into space to draw a foul from Curtis Davies for the free-kick that led to the equaliser, before Christian Eriksen found a pocket in front of the Hull defence in which to turn and fire home a winner. It was all too easy for the visitors.

Playing reactively and allowing your opponents to have possession requires greater levels of fitness, and when your centre-backs are under siege more than others they will flag as the game wears on. It is no surprise that Hull have conceded the second most goals in the final 10 minutes of matches this season (5), behind only Crystal Palace (6). Those goals have all been crucial, too, with Bruce’s side dropping 12 points from winning positions this season, 10 of which have been plucked from their grasp inside the last 10 minutes. It is simplistic to reduce football to this, but if you were to write off Hull’s late concessions, they would be 4th from top rather than 4th bottom. On top of that, they also crashed out of the Capital One Cup at West Brom thanks to 88th and 89th minute goals. Clearly, something is wrong.

A pattern is forming for the Tigers, and it is one that Bruce will be keen to arrest sooner rather than later. It could be that fitness levels aren’t high enough in the squad, or that mentally the team are weak, but whatever the reason there is a discernable vulnerability to Hull. As they continue to slide down the table, something will need to be done if they are to make this season the success they had originally hoped it might be.

Do you think Hull can turn things around and improve on last season’s position? Let us know in the comments below