Hull City 2-1 Reading FC: The Alternative View

The Royals travelled to Humberside on Wednesday after last weekend's dismal display at Preston, and credit must go to the 131 fans who made the journey. Not many relished the trip to Hull and with Brian McDermott waiting in the wings, most supporters would have taken a draw and a decent effort.

The highlight of the game was undoubtedly the Nick Blackman goal, an exquisite move, and if scored by Barcelona or any other top level team, would have drawn much more coverage. It set the tone for a first half in which Reading were dominant, however the football gods weren’t smiling on Martin Kuhl's team and some untimely injuries turned what should have been at least a good point into a pointless journey back to Reading.

Much of the media attention surrounded the lack of a managerial appointment, even though McDermott’s arrival must have been the worst kept secret in the league, and against a team with a good home record, many fans probably feared the worst.

However a Reading win or a draw wasn’t to be, and the Hull fans seemed to be upset by the first half performance and in the second period by Chuba Akpom’s petulance – although many were quick to forgive the loanee. Throw in a few whinges about our style and time wasting (!), and THAT kiss between Williams and Akpom and that’s probably the story of the game.

So eyes down and here we go…

Social

We seem to have a habit of breaking team’s records

First time #hcafc have come from behind to win since Boxing Day last year. Not something they do often.

— Brad Rial (@BradRial) December 16, 2015

Passion - Akpom: the forgiving…

Don't see the problem with Akpom kicking off, at least he showed passion unlike some of the others on the pitch tonight #hcafc

— Charlie Taylor (@Chopper_Taylor) December 16, 2015

#Akpom probably most frustrated that most of the game he had no service but when we started to actually play a bit he was subbed off. #hcafc

— Paul Dockerty (@pdockerty) December 16, 2015

And the not so forgiving…

@cakpom no need for your reaction on getting subbed tonight, also diving and feigning injury. Embarrassing #UTT #hcafc #HullCity #akpom

— Mitchell (@MitchellHull) December 16, 2015

Story of our season…

Well we didn't deserve that and it certainly wasn't pretty but 3 points nonetheless. #hcafc

— James (@T9JVC) December 16, 2015

Who needs tactics?

Interesting tactic.Kick an opponent in the head so he has to go off then nick a winner against the 10 men #hcafc

— Richard Bibby (@RichardBibby1) December 16, 2015

Say again?

Reading unlucky to be down to ten through injury. Or karma for cheating all half. #hcafc

— Rick (@HullCityLive) December 16, 2015

Counting your chickens and all that…

Wow.. Well. We really didnt deserve the win. But "the sign of champions is when a team can win when they play badly". #hcafc

— Neal Kesztenbaum (@keszty) December 16, 2015

Really ought to think before tweeting

Livermore has been awful tonight, passing been so poor and cheap #hcafc

— Nathaniel Cull (@NathanielCull) December 16, 2015

That moment, that passion, that kiss...

Danny Williams and Chuba Akpom enjoy a lovely kiss. #readingfc #hcafc pic.twitter.com/veEsG77TpD

— Mick Wreckless (@MickWreckless) December 16, 2015

Media

Once again we have the luxury (!) of being the only game being played on Wednesday, so it's the complete opposite of the Preston game as we actually got some pretty good coverage.

Starting with the national papers then, and the Guardian heaped praise on Hull and Livermore in particular, however give us a little credit by saying we dominated the first half. Looking at the Daily Mirror,  and they are all about Akpom and his petulant outburst, with only two lines actually about the game itself.

The Mail Online follow a similar report to the Guardian, however they do mention us more than once and point out that Hull did spend £10 million on bringing Hernandez to the club.

FourFourTwo – Australia (!) give the Royals a good write up, calling Blackmans strike "emphatic" and saying we were also unlucky to hit the bar, and that Hull were a totally different side in the first half.

Given the quality of the Nick Blackman goal and the neat back heels from Vydra and Norwood, then understandably we do have a couple of sites picking up the video of this, and Sky Sports as usual have a highlights package and more which you can see here.

BT Sport give us a mention, but again it’s all about Livermore, similarly with ESPN FC, however the London Evening Standard run with the Akpom challenge on Williams and say that he resisted the temptation to retaliate against Williams after the tackle. Cracking video of the "kiss" though.

TalkSport actually mention us this week with the focus being on the Blackman goal, calling it outrageous and a contender for team goal of the season. Similarly CaughtOffside label it "unbelievable" and also mention that McDermott must be happy watching that.

Over at the BBC, and they give us a bit of credit saying that we deserved the first half lead, also giving good praise to Jonathon Bond in the Royals goal.

HITC carry a roundup of the Hull fans tweets, as well as reaction to Akpom's outburst, which is also the focus for the International Business Times roundup of the game.

Looking at the local papers, and at the Yorkshire Post they must have a Star Wars fan as they compare Jake Livermore to the premiere of the film, Reading to Stormtroopers (because of our mainly white kit??) and Hull's first win in 14 games on Sky to the wait for the new film. As the phrase goes, "whatever floats your boat".

GetReading as usual have a good roundup, calling our loss "harsh" and there's a number of reports that are worth a read. As always make sure you check out The Tilehurst End for all the latest news and views.

So, we lost and have a home game on Sunday against Blackburn and the return of McDermott to look forward to. Hopefully we can kick on from this game, pick up three points and have a good Xmas period.

Onwards and upwards!

Urzzz