Hull City were taught a harsh lesson at the KCOM stadium on Saturday afternoon, with Leeds United rolling into town and beating them 4-0 on their own turf, thrusting Grant McCann’s side further into trouble in the process.  

McCann’s side have been in free-fall since the start of 2020 and are without a victory since New Year’s Day; Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki have moved on and a crippling injury list has left the Tigers with little options to stem the flow when sides like Leeds turn it on against them.

Luke Ayling struck after five minutes, with Pablo Hernandez doubling that lead only two minutes into the second-half. From there, Leeds cruised, with Tyler Roberts stepping off the bench to deliver gloss to a complete away performance with a brace.

Results around Hull in the table have seen the standings become more congested, with McCann’s side potentially finding themselves just two points above the bottom three at the end of matchday 36 – depending on an unlikely Middlesbrough win tonight against Nottingham Forest.

There is no doubt that these are tough times for the Tigers and things are deteriorating at a rapid rate.

With that in mind, we take a look at what we learned about Hull on Saturday…

Defeat to Leeds won’t define Hull’s season

 

Expectedly, Grant McCann was deflated as he strolled into the KCOM press conference, but a defiant message was delivered as he began to dissect what he had just witnessed.

"This result today is not going to define our season," McCann stated. And, honestly, he’s probably right.

McCann admitted that when he took a much stronger Hull side to Elland Road in December, they were on the receiving end of another defeat, with plenty of better sides suffering at the hands of Marcelo Bielsa’s men.

The defeat to Leeds has obviously added to the fear of Hull becoming tangled in the Championship’s basement battle and a spike in results is needed in the coming fixtures to ease tension in East Yorkshire, so putting this defeat behind them is essential for Hull.

March sees Hull take on Stoke City, Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough, whilst Wigan Athletic and Luton Town await in April: right there are five fixtures that could define Hull’s season.

Taking points off those around them in the table will lead us to the answer of what division Hull will be playing their football in next season; clashes against Leeds and West Brom (to come in April) are free hits.

January has led them to this point

 

Hull have plenty to contend with right now, including the sort of injury list that will draw sympathy from around the Championship. However, they aren’t the only side with that to contend with and, in many ways, you’ve got to be prepared for them when they hit you: it’s often out of your hands and there’s little you can do to prevent them.

What Hull have done, though, is sell the crown jewels in the January transfer window, with the departures of Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki leaving the Tigers without the scorers of 22 goals and creators of many, many more.

Bowen scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham just hours after Hull surrendered to Leeds, whilst Grosicki is battling the Whites for the Championship title in the colours of West Brom.

You can forgive Hull for faltering due to an injury list as long as McCann’s arm, but what the fans will struggle to get on board with is the fact that off-field circumstances have led to the sale of the manager’s ammunition.

Granted, Bowen and Grosicki’s contract situations meant sales were inevitable, but that inability to manage things away from the pitch has led to McCann struggling to get a reaction on it.

With Bowen and Grosicki, Hull wouldn’t be in this position, but without them, who knows what the next two months will bring.

Samuelsen a positive on a grim afternoon

 

There’s no way you can sugar-coat what was witnessed from a Hull perspective on Saturday, with the Tigers ripped apart by one of the Championship’s best sides.

However, they stemmed the flow of Leeds after Ayling’s goal and Hernandez’s effort that struck the crossbar moments later, with McCann noting how things heading into half-time were pretty even.

And, Martin Samuelsen was impressive in those moments, not giving Kalvin Phillips a moment of rest at the base of Leeds’ midfield; robbing him of the ball to set the Tigers loose on Marcelo Bielsa’s defence.

Ultimately, a lack of composure saw Hull struggle to test Illan Meslier, and the second-half saw Samuelsen’s influence limit and the home side fold.

But, on an afternoon where negatives outweighed positives, Samuelsen deserves some credit on his first Championship start.