Post Match Reaction: Hull City 2-0 Brighton

Andy Dawson missing a sitter

5 minutes to go, Brighton pour forward looking for a leveller, Andy Dawson intercepts, finds Elliott, he waits and flicks a great ball to Burgess, away he goes, draws the keeper, knocks it past him, waits for it to come back off the post, and knocks it in. Benny boy is back!

Quite a mixed game today. Some really good football, but a lot of rubbish. We looked like two sides who will struggle. We were the better, besides a couple of lapses, we defended very well again, now only 2 goals conceded in 360 Championship minutes. We created plenty of half chances too. I think we'll be OK.

I've seen Brighton, Wolves, Wednesday & QPR now and I'm not convinced we have anything to fear. We are definitely good enough to do finish mid-table. We did struggle at times though. Brighton, who'd done nothing in the first half, brought on big McCammon at half time and he was a real threat. Annoying, tall, rough and quick, he gave Delaney and Coles a good test, and they created 3 or 4 great crossing positions but wasted the chances that came from them.

Craig Fagan - a handful

First half was ours, we attacked well in periods, and were never threatened. Dawson missed a sitter after somehow turning up unmarked at the near post. Fagan flashed one wide and we had a few good set pieces. Eventually we broke through, France cracking home from 20-odd yards after great work from Fagan. Was a bit contentious, Fagan seemed to tread on Knight's ankle before making off with the ball. A strange decision in a long line from the rotten referee.

Fagan was a handful again, although his vision let him down. Half way through the first half he beat 2 men on half way, holding the ball up brilliantly, but didn't spot France's superb run and released the ball too late, France being offside by the time he passed. Towards the end, we attacked and Woodhouse went screaming down the left looking for the pass but France tried to find Elliott who was offside.

Coles and Delaney had a lot of trouble, Coles is immense for 89:55, and then makes an error. Another dodgy back pass was rescued by Bo, as against QPR. Delaney looks solid, but you can see he's trying to adjust to the quicker, stronger, more intelligent forwards. He's doing OK, although the hoofs out of defence belong at a lower level.

Damien Delaney - doing OK

Midfield was swamped. I thought Green was very poor again. I feel for him because he's one of ours and I desperately want him to make it, but on the evidence so far, he's sinking. Elliott was quiet. Control let him down on occasions, but we did see a little bit of the SuperStu we know and love. A couple of great back post runs, and a 60 yard dash with the ball that won a corner. Everyone else did OK. France was a threat and scored a great goal. Wiseman coped very well, even when he made a mistake, he was calm and recovered. Dawson got forward well first half, but was pushed back in the second. A lot of balls dropped into that area on the left when we attacked, and he wasn't there in the 2nd half. Burgess hanged the game, did really well, bustled and won a lot, spread it well on the floor, worried them and scored a good goal. A certain starter at Plymouth for me. Woodhouse also did very well after coming on. We were getting a bit of a chasing and he was well up for chasing it. He passed very well and put himself in intelligent areas. Ashbee was excellent off the ball, but not great on it.

Ben Burgess - did really well

A lot of credit to the manager for making the substitutions. Both changed the game for the better. A lot of credit too, to Boaz Myhill. He looked very dodgy at the end of last year, and has played extremely well. Last week was very spectacular, today was just solid, strong goalkeeping. Well done, Bo.

Overall, a good win, first 3 points and a decent battle in the sun.

Ratings: Bo 7, Wiseman 7, Dawson 7, Delaney 7, Coles 7, France 7, Elliott 6, Ashbee 7, Green 6 (Woodhouse), Barmby 6 (Burgess 8), Fagan 8.

All photos copyright © Corred.