Whilst out in Spain I’d missed seeing the Boro tonk Norwich five-one in a game that was over by half-time. Harry reckoned that we weren’t remotely flattered by the scoreline and that we had eased off once the points were in the bag. With us in that sort of form I had high hopes of something similar against Hull.
This was another evening game selected by Sky and so we had a slightly later than usual kick-off time of 8pm. Riley McGree was absent injured and so Hayden Hackney got the chance to play further forward. I thought he did well, invariably looking for the adventurous option and was unlucky to only hit the post in the first half. He’s another fella who has had a great season and to think that he wasn’t even in contention for a first team spot until Leo was given the caretaker’s job.
Despite us being on top, it was Hull who took the lead just before the break with a header after a corner. We sometimes seem vulnerable at set pieces, but I wasn’t too concerned as it just looked to be a matter of time before we clicked. The injury list was worsening though with Forss and Smith staying in the dressing room as the teams emerged for the second half, giving opportunities to Dijksteel and Jones to show they deserved starting places.
And click we certainly did. Three goals in six minutes as we approached the hour took the game away from Hull. The third meant that Akpom had scored in nine consecutive home games which was a record of some sort and also his twenty-ninth of the season. The tally matched his shirt number and he ripped it off, twirled it about a bit and gave Carrick a hug.
The win confirmed our play-off spot with three games still to play. Not a bad position to be in.
Trail of the Lion King 