Liam Rosenior highlighted Hull’s “complete professionalism” after his side returned to the Sky Bet Championship top six with a resounding 3-0 win at home to Cardiff.
Aaron Connolly gave the Tigers a deserved 1-0 lead at half-time before Scott Twine and Ozan Tufan blew away the abject visitors after the restart.
Rosenior said: “The performance was probably similar to a lot of games we’ve played this season, but we had a ruthless side to us.
“It was a really pleasing day but we have to maintain this way of playing and in this vein of form.
“The first goal was really important – Aaron was in a perfect position – and then Scott Twine scores a free-kick and Ozan’s goal was beautiful.
“I really enjoyed the way we saw the game out. I wanted a clean sheet and it was complete professionalism.
“I always want more but the way we went 2-0 up in the second half and continued to press was magnificent.”
Hull, who claimed an important win at Middlesbrough in midweek, were excellent from the outset.
They could have been 2-0 up before Connolly scored a back-post tap-in off Liam Delap’s low cross on 32 minutes.
Cardiff manager Erol Brulet, so frustrated by his side’s timid defeat at home to Birmingham in midweek, will have demanded much more after the interval.
But Hull remained on the front foot, and doubled their lead after 56 minutes when Twine scored a perfect, curling free-kick from the edge of the penalty box.
Tufan underscored the hosts’ dominance three minutes later when he expertly controlled Tyler Morton’s reaching long ball before lobbing Jak Alnwick.
Rosenior said: “If you press and you work hard, good things happen. I think what epitomised that was Ozan’s performance.
“There’s a good feeling at the club between the players and the fans. There’s a lot of confidence at the club and I’m really happy with the way things are going.
“We’re a team. We win as a team and we lose as a team. For us to get to where we want to be, it has to be a team mentality and every single player does their job.
“I’m sure there’ll be more setbacks to come but the team are showing me a determination and resilience that I’m really happy with.”
Counterpart Brulet feels Cardiff, who have lost three of their last four games, are beginning to feel the pressure of expectation.
He said: “We saw the quality difference between the two teams.
“When you want to be in the play-off positions we have to show much, much more – we are far away from that (reaching the top six).
“We didn’t show anything. Maybe in the past I said we want to be around the play-offs, and maybe that was too much pressure on the players.
“I have to ask myself about that. Maybe it was too much for some of the players.
“I try to get the maximum from the team. Maybe I try to ask too much of the players too quickly.”
Brulet added: “You need to change inside the club or nothing will change today or tomorrow.
“I only have one year and I have to change the maximum of what I can do.
“Maybe we have to put our foot on the break at times. Everyone’s frustrated – me, the players and fans – but in this situation we all together.
“At the start of the season, everybody would accept that our target was to stay in the league, but I do not accept that myself.
“January is coming and the season is not finished yet.”
Shaw reveals how advice from former Man City stalwarts Bronze, Sterling assisted her to settle at the club
After struggling to find her footing when she just arrived at Manchester City, Jamaica international Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw, revealed that it was the advice of Lucy Bronze and Raheem Sterling, coupled with hard work, that assisted in her now being the club's record goalscorer.
Since her transfer from Bordeaux in 2021, Shaw has cemented her status as one of the game’s most clinical strikers during her spell with Gareth Taylor's side so far. In the process, she smashed a number of records, including most goals scored by a Manchester City women’s player in a single season -31 in the 2022-23 campaign -before becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 72 goals overall.
However, she wasn't always confident that she would have accomplished those feats, as she pointed out how guidance from former Manchester City pair Bronze and Sterling put her on the path to history in sky blue, after a difficult early period at the Joie Stadium.
“When I came here initially, I was struggling a bit,” Shaw revealed on The Women's Game Podcast with Sam Mewis.
“One day I was coming in from training and Lucy [Bronze] was coming in as well and she asked, ‘are you okay?’ and I said ‘I just can’t get the way they play, I can’t get it right’. City play a specific type of way and I was saying when we were walking in from training ‘I cannot get this right’. I didn’t know if here was for me.
“She started laughing and she was like ‘you focus on what got you here, the bits you do well that got you here, there’s something they saw in you that got you here’. At that moment I was like ‘wow’. I then called Raheem [Sterling] and I said the same thing to him. He was just laughing and said, ‘when I came from Liverpool I struggled a bit, they play a certain way so trust the process, believe in what you’re doing and believe in yourself’," she added.
From there, the 26-year-old Shaw said she continued to put in the work, both on and off the field until her performances came together.
“I put the comments from both Lucy and Raheem together and it made sense. I told myself to continue working and watching the videos, see how I could improve my game and seeing how best I can help the team. By doing that, it helped a little better day-by-day. Couple of weeks later I called Raheem and said, ‘it’s working!’ He was laughing and said, ‘I told you, you’ve just got to believe in yourself and do all the right things and focus on you first and foremost before you can focus on anything else’," Shaw shared.
Although her 2023/24 campaign was cut short due to a broken foot, Shaw will finish the campaign with 22 goals and five assists. And she credits her sparkling City success to her dedication on the City Football Academy training pitch.
“I just kept at it and believing in myself. The confidence comes from scoring goals and as the games come, I’m thriving," she ended.
Girona 4-2 Barcelona: Hosts secure Champions League football while ending Blaugrana's title hopes
Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 to secure Champions League qualification and gift Real Madrid their 36th LaLiga title.
Madrid, who have lost only once in the league this season, hold a 13-point advantage over second-placed Girona, while Barca dropped to third after Saturday's loss.
The victory saw Girona seal European football for the first time in their history.
A brace from substitute Portu helped LaLiga's surprise package Girona to humble their Catalan rivals.
Andreas Christiansen scored in the third minute to give Barca the lead but Girona hit back a minute later, with LaLiga's top scorer Artem Dovbyk heading in the equaliser.
Robert Lewandowski put the visitors back ahead from the penalty spot just before the break.
However, in his first action after coming off the bench, Portu restored parity before Miguel Gutierrez scored from a rebound two minutes later to turn the match on its head.
And that paved the way for a stunning volley from Portu in the 74th minute to secure the win.
Real Madrid's LaLiga joy must be 'contained' ahead of Bayern meeting
Carlo Ancelotti knows Real Madrid's LaLiga title celebrations must be "contained" as they prepare to take on Bayern Munich.
Madrid were crowned LaLiga champions for a record-extending 36th time on Saturday, after Barcelona lost 4-2 to Girona.
The Blaugrana's defeat followed on from Madrid beating Cadiz 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Brahim Diaz, Jude Bellingham and Joselu were on target for Los Blancos, whose coach Ancelotti knows restraint is needed in his team's celebrations, with the Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern coming up on Wednesday.
"It's obviously a contained joy, because the most important game of the season is also very close, but we have to be happy," Ancelotti told Movistar Plus+ before the Barca game had been played.
"These games are difficult to prepare for, because you have Wednesday on your mind. But so far it's been spectacular, our team was steady, with hardly any mistakes. The advantage we have is well deserved.
"A big part [of Madrid's success] was achieved when we started to defend better, with a collective commitment.
"The effort put by the players up front was great, but the injuries early in the season helped us to realise that it wasn't about individuals but putting on a collective effort, and we did great."
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone, Ancelotti said: "We are very good. It is the seventh victory in a row in the League, a spectacular one as a whole.
"We are very close to winning it and I think we are going to do it with merit.
"It is a celebration taking into account what has to happen on Wednesday. We are all happy with the match, but let's think about Bayern."
Thibaut Courtois, meanwhile, returned from his long injury lay-off to feature for the first time this season.
Ancelotti added: "Thibaut is a very important piece for this team, although [Andriy] Lunin has had a spectacular season and that is a lot of credit to Andriy. But Courtois has returned very well and was decisive. He is doing very well."
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