Play-off hopes hit as woeful City beaten by Stoke — The Hull Story

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Stoke City Outshines Hull City

Written by Sam Hawcroft, Journalist covering Hull City.

Hull City faced a crushing defeat against Stoke in front of a packed MKM Stadium. Their performance was extremely poor, potentially ending their chances of making it to the playoffs. This was made worse by the fact that all three of the teams chasing them for playoff spots secured important wins.

Maybe the most dreadful aspect was how it was bound to happen no matter what. This season, the Tigers haven't played well on their home turf, particularly when facing weak opponents and performing in front of large audiences. Looking back, it was unlikely that today's game would be any better than previous ones. People often say that excessive optimism can be detrimental, and this situation exemplifies that sentiment.

In the East Stand, people were dressed in shirts and sunhats while in the West, people were wearing four layers and bobble-hats for the Good Friday match. Unfortunately, the Tigers were not in good form despite being well rested from their break in Turkey.

There's a fear that taking time off from competition could slow down a team's progress. However, Manchester City didn't have much progress to begin with before their trip to Antalya. They brought 50 members along for some vacation time, hoping to recharge. But, prior to their trip, they had four consecutive draws which implied that they weren't playing to their full potential. Unfortunately, their performance today shows that they have not improved in this regard during their travels.

The beginning of the game was pretty calm and less exciting. However, Stoke appeared to be more prepared and focused on winning, indicating that they had strategies in mind. They were at a position close to being relegated so they had to work hard to get out of that situation. In contrast, City didn't seem to show the same level of determination even though they were fighting for a playoff position.

In comparison to the exciting 2-2 match against Leicester, two alterations were made in the lineup. The Tigers squad saw Noah Ohio as the starting forward for the first time, and Sean McLoughlin stepping in for Jacob Greaves, who was absent due to suspension and greatly needed on the team.

Stoke managed to secure a corner kick within just two minutes of the match starting. However, it was cleared with no difficulty. In the initial moments of the game, the Potters were spending more time in City's half.

In the eighth minute, Josh Laurent took a shot that missed the target by quite a bit. Not long after, Anass Zaroury attempted a long shot from far away, but it didn't even come close to the goal. The spectators in the crowded North East corner found this amusing and showed their displeasure.

The initial 15 minutes passed without much excitement, and the game remained lackluster. The Tigers attempted a few rapid corner kicks, but they failed to yield any results. In the 18th minute, Luke McNally was penalized for a foul on Zaroury, resulting in his booking. The foul occurred 25 yards away from the goal.

A free kick was taken by Ryan Giles and it went towards Jaden Philogene on the right side of the box. However, Jaden was unsuccessful in making a connection with the ball. Lewie Coyle later made a cross towards McLoughlin who was on the other side of the area, but he was unable to score as he headed the ball over from a short distance. The home fans were disappointed as this wasn't the game-changer they were hoping for.

During the 28th minute of the match, Michael Rose received a yellow card for fouling Regan Slater around 25 yards away from the right side of the field. As a result of this, the free kick taken by Zaroury was redirected out of bounds and led to a corner kick.

Despite their efforts, there was still no success. As the game approached the halfway mark, Stoke City received another caution, with Laurent being booked for bringing down Fabio Carvalho.

During the 36th minute, Philogene delivered a pass towards the eight-yard area where Ohio was positioned. However, when Ohio tried to redirect the ball towards the goal, his flick didn't go as planned.

After a foul was committed, a free kick was given which was taken 25 yards out on the right-hand side. The ball was kicked into the air by Zaroury, and Alfie Jones managed to touch it before it continued towards Daniel Iversen in goal. However, the ball did not pose any danger to Iversen, who had not been challenged by any shots on goal yet, just as Tigers' goalie Ryan Allsop.

Just before the break, Stoke had a long stretch of time in the Tigers' box, causing City to kick the ball away a few times. The ball bounced around a bit, and Stoke asked the referee for a handball call against the Tigers. However, the ball was kicked high and the referee disregarded Stoke's request. Overall, it was not very enjoyable to watch.

Soon after, a risky pass into the penalty box narrowly avoided Laurent who was only one yard away from scoring. Once again, the unsettling feeling of City potentially failing to win reared its head. There was no haste or indication that this game was vital to win, even though every match is crucial at this point.

At the start of the second half, City adopted a more upbeat approach and spent a considerable amount of time in the Stoke area for approximately 10 minutes. However, they were unable to get any decisive shots on goal despite making several attempts through crosses.

In an effort to boost the mood, the fans in the North Stand belted out the song I'm Into Something Good while the Tigers continued to dominate the game. Unfortunately, in the 58th minute, Ohio missed a golden opportunity to score when he missed a header that was completely free.

At the designated time, Zaroury was substituted for Abduş Ömür and Slater was switched out for Tyler Morton. Shortly thereafter, Morton led an encouraging offensive maneuver that concluded with Philogene delivering a shot towards the goal - potentially after taking excessive touches.

That was practically the final thrilling moment until the expected disaster occurred at the 70-minute mark. The Tigers fell behind 1-0 in an extremely disappointing way.

In one corner of the field, Ryan Mmaee jumped up and used his head to direct the ball towards the bottom left-hand side of the goal. Laurent quietly and quickly moved in without any defenders noticing him. He was close to Philogene, but he managed to score from about a yard away. It was a disappointing moment for the opposing team, but it was not unexpected as the momentum was in favor of Laurent's team.

Towards the end of the game, Billy Sharp was brought in, but it was too late for any significant impact. He did have a small opportunity in the final moments, but his header missed the target from a short distance away. However, the game had already lost its excitement, and with it, any hopes for City to make it to the playoffs.

At the final moments, Stoke managed to secure their victory when Ki-Jana Hoever's bouncing shot successfully passed Allsop. This caused the remaining fans who supported the Tigers to leave the stadium in large numbers. The statistics accurately reflected the outcome of the game with "zero shots on target".

The season isn't finished until it's completed. If you believe in the pattern of TypicalCity, then you might want to consider betting on us winning against Leeds at Elland Road on Bank Holiday Monday. Unusual circumstances have occurred before, and we have already defeated Southampton and Leicester on their own territory.

The inquiry remains if the Tigers' incapability to finish games decisively is a passing phase or a worrisome manifestation of Liam Rosenior's approach to the game. We have a total of eight games to scrutinize before conducting thorough investigations.