For Those who Could not Attend

For Those Who Could Not Attend.
Hull City FC Saturday 18th January 2020
Team.
Hamer, Bogle, Wisdom, Clarke, Lowe,
Rooney, Holmes, Knight,
Waghorn, Lawrence.
Substitutes
Forsyth, Martin, Davies, Sibley, Roos, Bird, Whittaker

Referee, Andy Woolmer

Attendance: 27,412

The context of this game is more complicated than usual due the EFL charges of breach of FFP rules. First question. Will the threat of docked points and farewell to any play-off hopes be countered by the positive effect of our new Field Marshall in midfield? I certainly hope so and time will tell. Will the EFL charges reduce or eliminate the chances of our recruiting wisely and effectively during this transfer window? Will the threat of these charges dis-incentivise any ambitious footballer from doing DCFC? These questions will take time to answer. I also am impressed by the statement the club has prepared in response to the EFL claims.

In the meantime Cocu’s selection will be interesting in the light of Bielik’s long-term absence and the return of other important players. And a glance at the team above shows Cocu’s thoughts on selection. Derby started very brightly for 10 minutes and the relinquished control of the game to Hull City who started to look dangerous to the point where Bowen spurned an easy chance with only the goal to hit. He put the ball beautifully over the bar and wide. After that the first half gemmed pretty evenly balanced with both sides coming close but failing to score. I thought Derby looked a bit more penetrative than Hull but their attempts were often blocked or deflected, Half-time couldn’t come soon enough for Derby and fans and there was general relief that the score was 0-0. Rooney had not looked particularly influential apart from a few neat passes with the recipient soon having the ball taken off him much to his frustration.

After the interval Derby were much quicker, more inventive and in control of the game. All players were contributing and sometimes failing at the final ball. Rooney was trying to show his players what was needed, but all too often was spreading poor rather than telling passes. Holmes was busy and Hull had their hands full in trying to contain his runs and get the ball off him. The defence was sound against breakaway attacks and a few half chances were wasted by the normally prolific Hull strikers. A lot of credit was due to Derby’s defence with Clarke and Wisdom holding very well. Lowe and Bogle defended well too but Bogle too often failed to cross early enough and tried to beat his defender when a cross might have been more dangerous. Not that he had a bad game - more that he has not yet mastered the art of whipping the ball in like he did for the winner against Crystal Palace recently. The goal came from a TL corner, perfectly placed and flighted for Matt Clarke to rise above the Hull defence and head the ball past George Long. There was a huge collective sigh of the whole crowd (except about 1000 travelling East Yorkshire) After that it was a matter of defending the lead and using the space resulting from Hull’s efforts to save a point to double the lead and seal the 3 points. In the event Derby held out until the final whistle. . Derby enjoyed 64% possession with very few shots. A very valuable and much needed 3 points

Positives from this game were :- The pairing of Wisdom with Clarke in central defence. We looked pretty solid in keeping them out of our goal. I thought Hamer was more assertive and he collected some high balls into his area. Lowe and Bogle look good defenders and bring much wanted energy down the wings. Negatives were Rooney’s rather low key effectiveness and Waggy’s not very effective bustle and combativeness. It may well be that Hull City do not share that view.

After that, the most important feature of the game was the level of support for Derby County and Mel Morris over the troublesome charges being brought by EFL. The club statement that EFL were told and gave written acceptance of the details would seem to be enough to defeat the aims of the tribunal. It is hard to think how truly independent the committee can be given that they are all Derby’s competitors. Imagine if the tribunal was staffed by ‘Boro or Leeds or NF or any club that still has even a slight threat of relegation. How could such a group be independent?