Inept. Shocking. Spineless. Lethargic. These are just some of the words that can go some way to explaining Burnley's performance at Hull today.
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Burnley sink without trace in Humberside Horror Show
Report of match Hull City 2 Burnley 0 played 30th December 2006
Reporter Pete Waters
An early goal from Dean Marney and a penalty from Craig Fagan ensured victory for The Tigers in a defeat that could have been far worse with better finishing from Hull.
Steve Cotterill preferred Steve Jones in attack for Kyle Lafferty while Chris McCann moved to left wing. John McGreal was a surprise inclusion on the bench.
Hull immediately got at us and showed greater desire in everything they did. They pumped balls forward time after time against a fragile defence. The breakthrough came early when Craig Fagan got in behind Steve Foster down the left and he cut the ball back across the penalty area and a totally unmarked Marney had the simplest of tasks to stroke the ball in.
If we thought this would spark The Clarets into life we were sadly mistaken. Hull continued to dominate the game with their robust style and extended their lead when Nick Barmby turned Jon Harley, only for the latter to bring him down. No complaints at all with the penalty award, which was duly dispatched by the impressive Fagan. This prompted Cotterill to make two immediate changes. Foster was having a torrid time and was replaced by McGreal and James O'Connor came off for Lafferty.
Burnley applied some pressure as the half wore on but the City defence coped with the high balls up to Gifton Noel-Williams with ease. However, our best chance of the game fell to Noel-Williams whose tame header was comfortably cleared from danger.
Half time saw another change with Alan Mahon coming on for McCann who really struggled to get into the game on the left side. Immediately Burnley played with more passion and it looked like we may find a way back into the game after all. Another chance fell to Noel Williams but he could only fire over when well placed. Scuffed shots from Mahon and Wade Elliott could also be regarded as half chances.
As the half wore on though City became more and more comfortable and it was apparent that there was to be no comeback. They hit us time after time on the break. On one of these occasions Wayne Thomas was caught hopelessly out of position by Fagan who squared for Parkin. It looked a certain goal but a combination of good goalkeeping and poor finishing allowed Burnley to scramble clear.
Just minutes later substitute Nicky Forster raced clear after a slip from Mike Duff but he could only place is shot straight at Jensen. Fagan then nearly doubled his tally after bursting through again but his shot lacked power and accuracy.
Hull continued to break forward with ease and it looked only a matter of time before they compounded our misery. Fagan nearly did once more but cracked a shot off the crossbar when he should have done better.
This was a dreadful display, make no mistake. We are playing with no confidence and are letting teams bully us out of games. Too many players are totally off colour and it's very difficult to take any positives from this performance. The defence was shaky all game and not even the usually calming influence from John McGreal seemed to have any effect. The midfield were non existent at times and allowed Hull to dictate the game to their style of play.
This poor run has stretched for too long now though and we really need to take something from Stoke on Monday. Man of the match for me goes to Wade Elliott. Certainly not a great game from him but he at least delivered some dangerous balls into the box. Unfortunately we never looked like capitalising on them.
I left the game with five minutes left and as I ran through the pouring rain to the car, it felt like this could be a very long winter indeed.
| Competition: Coca-Cola Championship Date: Saturday, 30th December 2006 Kick off: 15:00 Venue: The Circle | ||||
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Hull City
Marney 6
Fagan 23 (pen) |
2 - 0 | Burnley
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| Match Finished | ||||
| Starting line-ups | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boaz Myhill | |
| 3 | Andy Dawson | |
| 6 | Michael Turner | |
| 16 | Damien Delaney | |
| 24 | David Livermore | |
| 29 | Ryan France | |
| 22 | Dean Marney | |
| 4 | Ian Ashbee | |
| 8 | Nick Barmby (Forster 75) | |
| 27 | Craig Fagan (Featherstone 89) | |
| 11 | Jon Parkin (Elliott 79) | |
| Substitutes | ||
| 12 | Matt Duke | |
| 21 | Samuel Ricketts | |
| 7 | Stuart Elliott (Parkin 79) | |
| 9 | Nicky Forster (Barmby 75) | |
| 34 | Nicky Featherstone (Fagan 89) | |
| Starting line-ups | ||
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Brian Jensen | |
| 22 | Stephen Foster (McGreal 30) | |
| 2 | Wayne Thomas | |
| 3 | Jon Harley | |
| 6 | Michael Duff | |
| 7 | James O'Connor (Lafferty 30) | |
| 18 | Micah Hyde | |
| 16 | Chris McCann (Mahon 46) | |
| 11 | Wade Elliott | |
| 9 | Steve Jones | |
| 21 | Gifton Noel-Williams | |
| Substitutes | ||
| 4 | John McGreal (Foster 30) | |
| 8 | Alan Mahon (McCann 46) | |
| 14 | Garreth O'Connor | |
| 17 | Kyle Lafferty (O'Connor 30) | |
| 15 | Graham Branch | |
| 12 | Goal Attempts | 10 |
| 8 | On Target | 4 |
| 3 | Off Target | 6 |
| 1 | Hit Woodwork | 0 |
| 5 | Corners | 14 |
| 1 | Offsides | 2 |
| 21 | Fouls | 16 |
| Referee | Attendance |
|---|---|
| Graham Laws | 17,731 |
| Hull City cards shown | ||
|---|---|---|
| 69 mins | Damien Delaney | Unsporting behaviour |
| 74 mins | Nick Barmby | Unsporting behaviour |
| 78 mins | Dean Marney | Dissent |
| Burnley cards shown | ||
| 43 mins | Michael Duff | Unsporting behaviour |
| 78 mins | Wade Elliott | Unsporting behaviour |
| 85 mins | Wayne Thomas | Unsporting behaviour |
Click here to see a full list of the football results from Saturday, 30th December 2006.
