Hull City won 1-0 at Coventry City on Saturday afternoon to set a new club record for league games undefeated away from home.
The win, earned via a first-half goal from Aaron Mclean, kept alive City`s hopes of finishing the season in the top six after promotion rivals either lost or drew, only league leaders Queens Park Rangers picking up a victory.
Nigel Pearson dropped Nick Barmby to the bench and recalled Tom Cairney for his first start since the 5-1 win over Scunthorpe United.
The sparse crowd inside the Ricoh Arena, just 14,000, made for a strange atmosphere to a dull first twenty minutes, with neither side dominating the game and chances at a premium, Robert Koren flashing a header wide in the only early opening City created.
The opening goal came from Aaron Mclean, the former Peterborough striker firing home from Matty Fryatt`s cute flick following a long ball from Brad Guzan.
The away side could have doubled their advantage, but Koren shot wide from the edge of the area.
Coventry started the second half much brighter, and twice City were thankful to good defensive work for keeping their lead in-tact. First, Corry Evans headed off the line after Guzan appeared to have been fouled before a combination of Hobbs and Gerrard made further goal-line stops to preserve the advatange.
Having kept the hosts at bay, City should have doubled their lead. Fryatt charged down a Coventry clearance that fell into the path of Aaron Mclean, but he couldn`t find a finish past Coventry`s Westwood.
Former Leicester striker Fryatt went close on two separate occasions, shooting wide before a poor touch allowed Westwood to smother the striker`s effort.
Anthony Gerrard headed over from a right wing corner as City looked to extend their lead but, in all fairness, apart from fifteen minutes after half-time City never looked like conceding.
The full-time whistle brought with it a new record for the team of 2010/11, ending the long standing record for matches undefeated away from home. Nigel Pearson must now replicate this form at home in the remaining nine fixtures if his side are to gatecrash the top six. After looking like being out of the running, the season is alive again!
Share this article
Related Articles
