A 4-1 defeat always looks bad, but it doesn’t always tell the whole story of Hull City’s game at Sunderland. City were in this contest for much of the game, make no mistake. A ridiculous handball from Craig Fagan gave the home side an early goal they hadn’t deserved, but that aside the first half action was enterprising and exuberant from City, with a deserved equaliser coming from Zayatte’s head just before half time.

But then what many feared might happen, happened. The back four looked shaky on paper, but had put in a solid shift in the first period. They were mercilessly ripped apart by the home side in the second 45 minutes, and most worryingly in a variety of ways. Three goals came from a worrying variety of different outlets.

The first, a good finish from the always excellent Andy Reid after City failed to clear their lines on at lest three occasions. The second, a massive breakdown in communication (and the offside ‘trap’), which allowed Bent to slot home his second goal. The third, and final insult came from Michael Turner, who scored a typical Turner bullet header from a corner, with Zayatte struggling in his wake. At least the Tigers legend had the good grace to offer an apologetic hand to the away end. What a gent, and how we will miss him.

But let’s be fair, Saturday saw a new back four fielded, with two debutants (albeit McShane’s second debut). Zayatte and Sonko individually look like decent defenders, and showed as much in the first half. They will only improve over time. Anthony Gardner is also to return, and is probably first name on the team sheet (when fit). If we can get 30 league games out of him this season, we have a much better chance of staying up.

On the positive side, we were very tidy going forward in the first half. Hunt was excellent again, and Olofinjana started to look like the player we thought we were getting. But that was where it ended. Turner was magnificent as usual, keeping frail Tiger raids at bay throughout the second half. That we didn’t even force a real save from Craig Gordan in the second half is my major disappointment.

Next week’s encounter with Birmingham City will be touted by the national media as a relegation ‘six pointer’, which is clearly ridiculous. However, it is a game that City can realistically expect to win, and the sort of game they need to win if they are to be clear of the relegation zone at the turn of the year. City’s troubles last term were mainly caused by not picking up enough points at home, a trend that cannot continue if relegation is to be avoided. With Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink challenging Ghilas and Altidore for a starting place, City have real options up front, and will surely pose more problems for opponents at the KC.

Defensively, things will improve. As a former defender, Phil Brown knows how to get his team organised. City have never been poor defensively under Brown, and won’t continue in the same vein as the Sunderland second half debacle. The standard has to improve massively from Saturday’s game, because that was relegation defending.

Do you agree? City can’t keep defending as poorly can they? I’d love to hear your comments

TC