Matt Milne casts his mind back to last Sunday and our trip up to the MKM Stadium and asks if it was two points dropped or a point gained.
With both Vitaly Janelt and Yehor Yarmoliuk out through suspension, the starting lineup was always going to be interesting, with Keith Andrews deciding to partner right-back Aaron Hickey alongside Mamadou Sangaré in midfield. The inclusion of Dango Ouattara over Jaidon Anthony was also a surprise.
We made a very tentative start to the game and, following an increasingly intense spell of Hull pressure, spent the first 10–15 minutes camped in our own half instead of pushing forward to get what could have been a vital early goal. The Tigers bypassed our midfield with ease at times and were able to get straight at our back line, exploiting the space out wide. This was a constant theme throughout the afternoon.
We soon began to grow into the contest and started posing a threat. Yet, with the Tigers sitting deep in their own half, we found it difficult to break them down and create presentable opportunities – another common issue during the game.
Hull quickly regained control of the match and, following Caoimhín Kelleher’s ridiculous, borderline-suicidal pass out to Hickey on the edge of the area, the Scotland international brought down Hull’s busy midfielder, Tim Iroegbunam, inside the box, giving the Tigers the chance to take the lead from the spot. On another day, Hickey could have been sent off.
The wind-up merchant Oli McBurnie did the honours from 12 yards to give the Tigers a deserved lead. It was an utterly mad passage of play and yet another daft goal to concede – we seem to be doing this a lot lately. In a game that felt very winnable, it put us on the back foot for the rest of the match.
From the 30-minute mark onwards, it did feel as though we were finally starting to get a grip on the game and put pressure on Hull’s back line. However, we looked shaky on the ball when playing out from the back, with the Tigers repeatedly targeting Hickey, who looked like a fish out of water in his new midfield role, to great effect.
Just before half-time, we did start to create the odd chance. Kevin Schade found himself in space on the edge of the six-yard box before his goal-bound shot was deflected wide after striking Igor Thiago, who was standing in the way. Schade then burst into space from a perfectly timed through ball, but instead of blasting the ball towards goal, he dawdled on the ball before being forced away from goal. All in all, it was a very frustrating first-half performance from the Bees and, most definitely, our worst of the season so far.
I thought we would come out at the start of the second period and put in a much-improved performance. However, the first 10 minutes were more of the same: ponderous in possession, lacking a cutting edge in forward areas, with Ouattara proving to be the only threat in our very ineffective front line. Anthony and Damsgaard were soon brought on, and 30 seconds later, the pair had combined to score our equaliser.
Damsgaard found Anthony in space on the left. He whipped in a dangerous cross, which was scuffed clear into the path of Thiago. The Brazilian centre-forward calmly slid the ball across to Ouattara, who couldn’t miss at the back post. It was a deserved reward for our unrelenting pressure over the previous half-hour.
After we equalised, Hull looked there for the taking, and I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t up the tempo and increase our urgency in search of a second. Instead, we seemed relieved to no longer be behind and happy to settle for a point.
Other than Anthony’s howitzer from range, which whizzed just wide, we huffed and puffed but couldn’t create another big chance in a frenetic end to the game, even with the introduction of the sharp Callum Wilson and the energetic El Hadji Malick Diouf.
In fact, as the game drew towards its conclusion, Hull, still a threat on the counter, looked the likelier side to take the spoils. Mohammed-Ali Cho shot straight at Kelleher after yet another quick break. Joe Gelhardt then drilled his shot wide after finding himself in a very dangerous position in front of goal with just minutes remaining.
Overall, I thought most of the team failed to give a fair account of themselves. We know how good they can be on their day, but so far this season, it feels as though that day doesn’t come around often enough.
Sangaré was slightly underwhelming. This felt like a big moment for him, but he didn’t really seem to grasp the opportunity. We need to give the Malian midfielder time, as we certainly have a talent on our hands. Hickey was, unsurprisingly, a bit of a liability in midfield and perhaps should have been taken off at half-time. Schade and Keane Lewis-Potter seemed to spend too much time trying to win soft fouls.
Other than helping to set up the equaliser, Anthony offered little else in attack. Thiago was invisible again, although his well-taken assist led to our equaliser. Jensen still didn’t look up to speed, nor did Damsgaard when he came on, with the former guilty of wasting several good set-piece opportunities in the second half.
Kelleher could, perhaps, have kept out McBurnie’s saveable penalty. Kris Ajer and Sepp van den Berg were rock-solid in defence once again. Michael Kayode wasn’t able to get forward as much as usual but did a good job at the back. Ouattara looked much better and got his first goal of the campaign. He must start affecting games more in the future and stop being so consistently inconsistent.
At the final whistle, judging by the players’ faces, you would have thought we had lost the game. Even in the away end, a few of the Bees’ fans looked somewhat dejected. Andrews probably summed it up best after the game, saying we needed “to do better”, but adding that “we showed good resilience to get back into the game”.
So, was it two points lost or a point gained? I am inclined to go with the latter. In the Premier League, any point earned away from home, especially having gone behind, is a very good one.
