Talking points - Hull City vs. QPR
Article by Dave WilkinsonClick here to follow e-Hull City on Twitter!
The new Premier League season is a mere 90 minutes old but already the pundits, statisticians and analysts are already trying to scrutinise the performances of each team to make predictions of who will finish were. But realistically, what can 90 minutes of football tell us? Many will have been looking at the match at Loftus Road on Saturday to give them an indication of whether or not QPR will survive their return to top flight or if the dreaded SSS (second season syndrome) will curse Hull City.
If I’m honest, neither of these questions could be answered with any confidence by 5pm on Saturday but Tigers fans will have made the journey back up North with a few answers and clues to what lies in store this season.
In Bruce we trust
Four summer signings made their Premier League debut for The Tigers on Saturday (including Jake Livermore) and none looked out of place. Tom Ince started quietly, as did many of his teammates, but soon found his quick feet and caused the QPR defence problems throughout the second half. He will be disappointed to have spurned a wonderful opportunity for a debut goal but his overall performance assured fans that the departure of Shane Long might not be the end of the world. Livermore and Snodgrass provided a strong midfield partnership and made sure that Tom Huddlestone always had an outlet, even though early on, some of his passes failed to reach them. Snodgrass is no stranger to the Premier League and he tormented many defenders during his time at Norwich and I imagine that there will have been a feeling of relief amongst the home fans when he had to be substituted on the 40 minute mark. But the standout newbie performance for me was given by young Andrew Robertson from the left wing-back position. His pace and desire to get forward were breath-taking at times and his crosses, despite not always resulting in a chance on goal, looked dangerous. He also did his bit in defensive positions – reading the play like a veteran defender to intercept passes and break down the QPR attacks and even making a crucial goal line clearance. All of this is even more exciting when you consider that he is just 20 years old and this was his first ever match at this level.
Quinn’s mighty chance
One of the most bittersweet outcomes of the season opener for City fans was the impact of Stephen Quinn. The eventual winning goal came from the Irishman’s corner and since he came on, City kept the ball much better. Unfortunately, Quinn’s introduction would certainly not have been so early (if at all) had it not have been for the injury to Robert Snodgrass. At the time of writing, it’s still unclear what the extent of this injury is. That being said, central midfield is definitely not a position where City are short of options. Huddlestone and Livermore are arguably the most obvious names on the team sheet but Quinn and fellow countryman David Meyler provide Steve Bruce with a weekly head-scratcher. Quinn’s performances at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final and final and his talismanic display at the weekend have surely done enough to convince his critics that he can indeed cut it at this level. I for one hope he grabs the opportunity that the absence of Snodgrass could give him.
He dives to the right…
Alan McGregor has received all the plaudits for his second-half penalty save, and rightly so. But his all-round display oozed class and confidence. Apart from a misjudgement in the first half when he was almost caught out shielding a loose ball, he looked solid in the face of some decent QPR chances. Any Hull fans making the sentimental decision to pick McGregor in their Fantasy Football teams have been rewarded for their faith. One word that has been used by many newspapers to describe the penalty save is ‘justice’. When a cross was hammered towards James Chester from a few yards away, the defender’s arms where by his side and never moved. To give a penalty, a referee needs to be 100% certain that the handball was deliberate. On this occasion, I don’t even think the referee was 100% certain that the ball hit Chester’s hand at all. If the referee wanted a clearer penalty to award, he could have easily pointed to the spot when Nikica Jelavic looked to have been fouled in the box earlier on. Luckily for the referee, Chester’s goal and McGregor’s second consecutive opening day penalty save (remember him denying Frank Lampard from the spot last season?) meant that justice was done in the end.
Like I said, none of this gives us an idea of where City are likely to finish this season and their performance was certainly nothing special but QPR will no doubt be competing in the same mini-league this season and it was Bruce’s side who took are the right end of it at the moment. Thursday’s European test is followed by the first match at the KC Stadium on Sunday against a tough Stoke side, who many would agree could be competing for a similar league finish this season.
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