EFL

Liam Rosenior pleased substitutes changed game as Hull beat Middlesbrough

By Sports Desk December 13, 2023

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior hailed the impact of his substitutes that helped earn a 2-1 win at Middlesbrough.

With Boro leading on the hour courtesy of Emmanuel Latte Lath’s seventh goal of the season in the sixth minute, Rosenior made changes at the Riverside Stadium.

The triple introduction of Ruben Vinagre, Adama Traore and Ozan Tufan was followed by Liam Delap’s equaliser with 21 minutes remaining.

And after Greg Docherty and Sean McLoughlin were introduced from the bench in the seven minutes that followed, the stage was set for the visitors’ winner.

Vinagre’s run and cross led to Docherty passing into the path of Tufan to fire in his side’s second in the 82nd minute to lift Hull level on points with sixth-placed Sunderland in the Championship table.

Rosenior, who revealed winger Jaden Philogene will be sidelined for six weeks with a knee injury, said: “It certainly feels better now than it felt at half-time. I have spoken to the players a lot, and this was the first time in the year we had lost two in a row.

“And it was always going to be difficult to come back from a goal down against a very good team. I said at half-time it was about character and resilience. We showed how much it meant to us. This was a huge step for us tonight.

“That was probably the worst first half we have played in a long time. I have got a young team, an exciting team, a team that doesn’t have much experience of the Championship.

“The subs made a massive difference. Tufan was outstanding, Vinagre, Docherty, McLoughlin, Adama, every single sub had a positive impact on the game and that is a good sign.

“That is the lesson for this group, when every player’s engaged, from 1-20, and I changed system four times in the game, then it is down to the players and they showed that when things are up against us we have the spirit and determination.”

This was Middlesbrough’s third successive defeat, and their fourth in five. Having taken the lead through Latte Lath, and looked in control throughout the first half, there was clearly frustration.

Boro head coach Michael Carrick said: “I thought we played ever so well. Against a good team, we gave them next to nothing, played some really good football, looked dangerous and had so many opportunities.

“Bitterly disappointed. I’d have been bitterly disappointed with a draw after that to be honest with all the good things that I saw in the game. It’s one of them things.

“It’s the way it’s gone. We need to be that bit more ruthless but I thought we gave them hardly anything in the game. We didn’t let them have much. I thought the second goal would come but we just didn’t quite have that quality with our last pass or finish to make it count.

“I thought there was a spark tonight. I don’t think we need a spark. I thought the performance was there, so in terms of a spark, no. I thought the boys did a lot of good things and we’ll take a lot of confidence from it.”

Related items

  • Seattle Sounders v LA Galaxy: Sluggish starts frustrating Vanney Seattle Sounders v LA Galaxy: Sluggish starts frustrating Vanney

    LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney has urged his team to start sharply when they take on the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.

    The Galaxy went down 2-0 to Austin FC last time out, and will look to get back to winning ways when they head up the West Coast to face the Sounders, who they beat 1-0 in March.

    Vanney’s side found themselves 2-0 down after just 19 minutes against Austin, though, and the Galaxy coach is growing increasingly frustrated with his team’s sloppy starts.

    In quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune, Vanney said: “We've got to do a better job of not starting slow and getting ourselves behind the game one and two goals because then it certainly incentivises the opposition to sit a little bit lower and really kind of protect the face of the goal.”

    Vanney also pointed out that sluggishness in the final third is proving equally as costly.

    He added: “The speed of our final actions when we are in possession and we do find those moments that we need to break, with the timing of things, needs to be sharper. I feel like we weren't so sharp on that side of things so that we can get to the necessary spots.”

    For experienced defender Maya Yoshida, there were few excuses after the Austin loss.

    “We were not enough. I don't deserve anything for my performance,” he said. “We deserved to lose. We are very disappointed. We have to learn from this defeat.”

    The Galaxy went into the weekend second in the Western Conference, 10 places and nine points above the Sounders.

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz

    Ruidiaz and team-mate Jordan Morris have each scored nine goals against the Galaxy in their MLS careers. Since 2016, the only players with more goals against a single opponent are Carlos Vela (10 vs. Galaxy), Jeremy Ebobisse (10 vs. Galaxy) and Kei Kamara (10 vs. Montreal).

    LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig

    Puig had a fine campaign last year and the former Barcelona midfielder has picked up where he left off, scoring three goals and creating two more so far this season.

    MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN

    The Galaxy’s loss to Austin ended a run of 18 straight matches with at least one goal in all competitions, scoring 41 total times during that run (2.3 goals per match). It was the Galaxy’s longest run of games with a goal in all competitions since a 21-match run in 2014.

    The Sounders won their second match of the season on Tuesday, a 3-2 victory in Philadelphia. Seattle have scored eight goals in their two wins this year (5-0 vs. CF Montreal in April) and six goals in their other eight matches (D3 L5).

    The Galaxy beat Seattle at home on March 30, ending an 11-match MLS winless run against the Sounders (D4 L7). The Galaxy last won consecutive MLS matches against Seattle in April-August 2015.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Seattle Sounders – 53.9%

    LA Galaxy – 20.1%

    Draw – 26%

  • Haaland pinpoints collective Man City quality after four-goal blitz of Wolves Haaland pinpoints collective Man City quality after four-goal blitz of Wolves

    Erling Haaland blasted four goals past Wolves in a one-man Premier League show but the Manchester City forward says it would not be possible without manager Pep Guardiola or his team-mates.

    The City talisman took his top-flight tally to 25 for this season, moving five clear of his nearest challenger in the Premier League Golden Boot race, after Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of Wolves.

    Haaland was twice on target from the penalty spot as part of his first-half hat-trick, adding another after the interval with an arrowed strike into the top-left corner.

    It was the first time the Norway star has managed four goals in one Premier League game, with his quartet of strikes coming in 54 minutes. Only Gabriel Jesus has scored as many earlier in one match, doing so in 53 minutes against Watford in April 2022.

    Haaland also became the third player to score multiple first-half hat-tricks in Premier League history (also against Nottingham Forest last season), along with Andrew Cole and Michael Owen (two each).

    Yet the superstar attacker says his exploits would not be possible without his City colleagues or boss Guardiola.

    "I've got a not-too-bad manager who pushes me and look at the players around me," Haaland told Sky Sports when asked about his motivations.

    "Without them, it would not be possible. Look ahead, look to next one – four finals left for the season. We're going to go for it and focus on Fulham."

    It was Haaland's sixth Premier League hat-trick for City, with only seven players netting more in the competition’s history. All six of those trebles have been at the Etihad, only three have more at a single venue.

    Haaland's second strike came from a towering header following Rodri's right-wing centre, which he suggested would delight his father Alfie.

    "That's a beautiful goal," the Norwegian said of his headed finish. "My father is going to be happy with that one.

    "A nice celebration, I enjoyed that one. I'm scoring more headers, I try to develop and keep going."

    City are within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal and Guardiola's side still have a game in hand against Tottenham on May 14.

    Despite the thrashing of Wolves, Haaland insists Guardiola remains intent on winning the remaining games, rather than calculating the probabilities needed on goal difference.

    "First of all it's about winning the games but, of course, you want to have the best possible goal difference," he added. "Let's not think about that. Think about Fulham."

  • Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Early Riquelme strike earns narrow win Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Early Riquelme strike earns narrow win

    Atletico Madrid closed in on a Champions League spot after winger Rodrigo Riquelme's early strike earned his side a 1-0 win at Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday.

    With four games remaining, Diego Simeone's side are fourth in the standings on 67 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who beat Getafe on Friday.

    There was an end-of-the-season feel at a half-empty Son Moix stadium with both teams lacking urgency in a lacklustre match, with the only standout moment being Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute, which ultimately secured the win for the visitors.

    Riquelme pounced on a loose ball in the edge of the box and cleared two defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike just inside the right post.

    Data Debrief: Mallorca's blunt attack easily stopped

    Mallorca mustered an expected goals of just 0.24 in this game, and they have now failed to score in 15 of their 34 league games this season. Only Cadiz (17) have failed to score more often in the competition this term.

    That is despite the hosts having attempted 526 passes in this game, their highest total in a single league match this season.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.