You did it, Phil! Every single Hull City player brought their best game. I can't remember a single error or mis-placed pass in the whole of the match.
What's also interesting is that I can't really remember either goalkeeper making a good save, apart from Myhill from Fabregas in the final minutes. Arsenal did have a lot of chances, there's no pretending they didn't. Quite a few flashed just wide or over when they looked like they were going in. I couldn't believe it stayed out when Gallas hit the bar and Vela missed the rebound. After the Wigan and Everton goals that went in off the crossbar we were due a bit of luck there though. Every other Arsenal chance was met by great defending, with City's "no nonsense" approach winning out against Arsenal's preference of "walking it in".
When they did score there was a huge amount of luck involved. Zayatte had done well to force Walcott away from goal and then it took deflections off Adebayor and McShane before going over the line. It would have been a huge shame to lose to a goal like that - on the break after City went on a good attack - instead of one of their more sublime moves.
None as sublime as Geo's though. I can't say how pleased I was with Phil Brown's team selection; it was absolutely spot on. The three in the middle battled so well. The two strikers held the ball up well to stop it coming straight back at us. Geovanni was in the team to provide the attacking threat and bit of quality. I think it's fair to say he did that.
Browny also used his bench much better than last week against Everton. The players that came on provided fresh energy and limited Arsenal's opportunities to attack in the final minutes. The way we kept the ball in stoppage time was almost as beautiful as Geo's goal.
I watched the game at a packed Blackburn club in Brough and await to hear from those who were at the Emirates. Some enjoyed the win even more than the Play-off Final. Obviously the win against Bristol City was more important, but it was played against a team of fairly equal stature. Very few of the 4,670 competitive games Hull City have played have resulted in the Tigers beating teams among England's best. Yesterday was one of those occassions, and the first to happen in a league fixture. It's hard to put into words how proud that makes me feel.
Discuss this column on the message board
|
