EFL pundit Adrian Clarke has praised Hull City and manager Tim Walter after watching the Tigers earn a 3-1 win at QPR on Tuesday night to notch up three straight victories in the Championship.
City scored twice in the first half through Cody Drameh – his first in Black and Amber – and Chris Bedia before Rangers pulled one back from the penalty spot after Lewie Coyle was penalised for handball, but the game was put to bed 20 minutes from time when the excellent Liam Millar rattled in his first goal for the club.
It could have been very different, however, had Rangers taken one of their numerous chances in the opening 10 minutes, though they came up against goalkeeper Ivor Pandur in inspired form, something which also impressed Clarke.
Tigers fans were promised heart-attack football prior to Walter’s arrival at the MKM Stadium back in July, and the chaotic nature of their games has been apparent in their three wins over Stoke City, Cardiff City and QPR. The Tigers conceded 51 shots at their goal in that trio of games, but have come out unscathed with nine points in their back pocket, with a trip to Norwich City to come on Saturday rounding off the latest batch of games before the international break.
“I think Hull have clicked into gear a little bit. They’ve got lots of goals in them,” Clarke said as he reflected on City’s impressive away day success in the capital, which he witnessed in person at Loftus Road.
“That was the promise, wasn’t it, when Tim Walter was brought in – they’d ‘rather lose 4-3 than draw 0-0’ was the famous quote from the owner. It’s carnage watching Hull, it really is. You’ve got the centre-half, Sean McLoughlin, who spends a lot of the game in midfield and they just leave one centre-back, which is very risky, but it does help them control matches and overload the opposition at times.
“They rode their luck in this game. QPR didn’t play poorly by any stretch. They could have had four in the first 10 minutes. Ivor Pandur had an absolute blinder. Some brilliant saves from him, excellent handling as well later on in the game. He’s keeping Carl Rushworth out of the starting XI by the way, and Rushworth was one of the best keepers in last season’s Championship with Swansea. He’s doing fantastically.
“For Hull, it was just a very good team performance. (Mohamed) Belloumi stands out on the right, as does Liam Millar on the left. Two really positive wingers, who just run at full-backs and Millar scored from one of those.”
Clarke also reserved praise for Walter’s tactical judgement, having seen Rangers dominate the early stages of the second period just as they did in the first. Bringing on Oscar Zambrano and Marvin Mehlem, changed the flow of the half in their favour.
“Just a quick word on Tim Walter, who nailed his assessment of the match,” he continued. “The problem Hull had was they had Xavier Simons in midfield, flanked by Regan Slater and Kasey Palmer, and they were way too far apart. It allowed QPR to slice through them quite easily through the middle. He recognised it, brought on Zambrano and Mehlem and it completely changed the game.”