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Abel Hernández makes mark but Hull error lets West Ham off the hook West Ham’s Enner Valencia makes mark as points are shared with Hull
(about 2 hours later)
Hull’s recent additions provided immediate returns but the goalscoring exploits of Abel Hernández and Mohamed Diamé were overshadowed by deficiencies at the other end of the field as West Ham stole a Premier League point courtesy of a second-half howler. Enner Valencia provided stunning evidence that West Ham’s evolution may be worth watching with an early contender for goal of the season in a match that kicked stereotypes into touch.
Hull’s club-record signing Hernández, whose productivity at international level as understudy to the Luis Suárez-Edinson Cavani alliance is a respectable eight in 15 appearances, was handed a debut. The £10m signing trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Sunday and looked a natural fit as Nikica Jelavic’s strike partner. Valencia, £12m worth of Ecuador striker, marked his first Premier League start with a Tony Yeboah-esque equaliser and came within an inch or two of a last-gasp winner as these sides ditched defensive solidity for more expansive approaches. His 25-yarder was sandwiched by classy finishes from Hull’s debutants Abel Hernández and Mohamed Diamé before a howler from the goalkeeper Allan McGregor resulted in a Curtis Davies own goal.
There was an early thrust into the West Ham penalty area that was repelled by a posse of bodies and his penchant for a trick was evident during an entertaining first half. However, the most decisive of his touches came in the 39th minute: Jake Livermore relayed the ball back to Ahmed Elmohamady, whose right-wing cross was dispatched in sensational style by the forehead of Hernández, stealing in front of James Tomkins 10 yards out. Who knew Monday nights in East Yorkshire could be such fun? “We are not supposed to be playing like that,” said Hull's manager, Steve Bruce, before heading off for a beer with his counterpart Sam Allardyce. “We don’t normally play diamonds, we buy diamonds for people’s fingers,” he joked of the formations.
On first evidence, the 24-year-old appears a fine replacement for Shane Long. He had already shown signs of his intent when he seized on Jelavic’s knockdown to rifle into Adrián’s midriff a couple of minutes before his goal. Further proof of the quality of his left foot came five minutes later when he left the goalkeeper helpless from 25 yards with a dipping effort that came back off the bar. Jelavic converted the rebound but celebrations were curtailed by an offside flag. On this evidence both teams need tightening at the back. Allardyce, although enthused by the attacking threat of a side he laced with three forwards, was left to bemoan the sacrifice of one part of his side’s game for the promotion of another. “Attractive football and no wins is no good to me, no good to the owners and no good to the supporters,” he said.
That stirring finish sparked a standing ovation for Bruce’s team as they left the field and the raucous atmosphere for the majority of the match contained little of the angst Bruce feared would surface following Assem Allam’s reiteration of his intention to re-brand the club Hull Tigers. When it did it made for an intriguing twist. The inevitable chants of ‘City Til I Die’ from the North Stand were met somewhat surprisingly by boos resonating from other areas of the KC Stadium support, suggesting something of a softening to the Egyptian-born owner. Let us hope it takes a while for both to work in unison. Here, West Ham’s more-open approach allowed Hull to go ahead when their record £10m signing Hernández elegantly stole in front of James Tomkins to powerfully head them into a 39th-minute lead. It was so nearly 2-0 before the interval but Hernández’s dipping effort from outside the area struck the underside of the bar and his fellow striker Nikica Jelavic was flagged offside as he nodded the rebound into an empty net.
West Ham are a club with their own troubles. Valencia, £12m of Ecuadorian striker, made his first league start in an authentic 4-3-3. Sam Allardyce, maligned for his lack of adventure in the past, could face no such accusations here and there was a vibrancy about the visitors’ counterattacking that exposed a lack of pace through the middle of Hull’s team. Hernández, the understudy to Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani with Uruguay, received a standing ovation at the interval but another performer from this past summer’s World Cup altered the mood within the KC Stadium. Valencia teased Michael Dawson with his fleet of foot and, having a bought a yard, lashed in from distance. “The power and accuracy of the shot meant it was past McGregor before he could move,” said Allardyce. “It’s one of the best goals you’ll see.”
That was most notable in the 13th minute when Stewart Downing scooted out of defence, outstripping Tom Huddlestone in the process, to tee up Diafra Sakho, whose shot on the run arrowed over the angle of Allan McGregor’s goal frame. And again a dozen minutes before the interval when Sakho’s direct approach – he virtually ran through Curtis Davies – left Hull thankful for the length of Michael Dawson’s legs as a low cross was diverted narrowly past the post by a toe end. In fact, it took a fine reaction save from McGregor, changing direction to palm a chested effort from Sakho for a corner, to prevent West Ham taking the lead. In a flash Valencia had countered Hull’s momentum but he spurned the opportunity to turn the contest on its head shortly afterwards when he failed to connect with Winston Reid’s goalward header, unmarked and six yards out. With seconds left he had a chance even closer to the line but his header found its way over via a combination of Dawson’s chest and crossbar. It led Bruce – who admitted surprise at West Ham’s authentic 4-3-3 formation – to confess: “When I look back at this I will probably see it as a point gained.”
When they did score it proved worth the wait. Valencia teased Dawson with his fleet of foot and, having a bought a yard, lashed in the equaliser from 20 yards. In a flash Valencia had countered Hull’s momentum but he spurned the opportunity to turn the contest on its head shortly afterwards when he failed to connect with Winston Reid’s goalward header, unmarked and six yards out. Instead it was Hull’s other debutant, Diamé, who altered the scoreline when he mugged Cheikhou Kouyaté – ironically the man Sam Allardyce bought to take Diamé’s place in West Ham’s midfield – to advance into the area and caress a shot in off the post. Allardyce, having seen one of Hull’s recent acquisitions pay an immediate dividend on a transfer-deadline investment, feared he was about to be left to rue another when Diamé, whom he sold to Hull for £3.5m, put the home team back in front. Diamé mugged his replacement in West Ham’s midfield, Cheikhou Kouyaté, in a central area, advanced into the area and scored off the inside of a post. “What sickened me most was that we gifted it to him,” said Allardyce, who witnessed even greater generosity on Hull’s part within two minutes.
The openness of the game would have left neutrals purring but for Bruce – who branded Hull’s previous performance against those other claret and blues Aston Villa as the worst in his two-year tenure – there was more frustration two minutes later as Sakho’s weak cross-shot bobbled in off a combination of McGregor’s glove and Davies’ heel. Diafra Sakho’s cross-shot lacked power but somehow squirmed from the grasp of the Scotland international McGregor and bobbled off Curtis Davies’s heel into the net.
“If we had just been able to hold on to the lead for 10 minutes it might have been a different story,” said Bruce, who withdrew his two goalscorers for his two creative loanees Gastón Ramírez and Hatem Ben Arfa with 11 minutes to go.
Such was the enthralling nature of the contest that Assem Allam’s recent reiteration of his desire to re-brand to Hull Tigers barely caused a ripple. Only when the match lulled in about the 20th minute were the “City Til I Die” chants in evidence.
They were met with boos from other areas of the home support.
Things are slowly changing in these parts.