Liam Rosenior sang the praises of his Hull City side following their draw away at Watford on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers had fought hard throughout the match and were rewarded with a vital point against formidable opposition and a lucrative clean sheet to boot. Rosenior, taking charge of just his third league fixture, said he "was really pleased with the players after the game", hailing how the Tigers had "created a lot of stuff from a really good defensive shape". Whilst Rosenior's tactics had brought with it defensive success, questions were raised over the managers emphasis on playing the ball out of the back and the potential danger this raised for the Tigers.
Defensive Standouts
Defensive solidarity was the prevailing theme of the afternoon with a first league start for Sean McLoughlin affording the 26 year old an opportunity to prove his worth to the new regime. The Irishman certainly impressed, leading the team in clearances and allowing zero opposition players to dribble past him. Considering the pedigree of the Hornets attack, this stat was a remarkable feat, surely making McLoughlin a key asset for Rosenior over the notoriously congested festive period. His defensive compatriot, Alfie Jones, also showed his quality, topping the Hull leader boards for interceptions and recovering the ball for his side on seven occasions.
Perhaps the standout performance on the defensive end came from Tigers shot stopper, Matt Ingram. Ingram made his first league start since September and used the unfortunate injury to Nathan Baxter as a chance to show his class in front of the new management. The 28 year old made three crucial saves, keeping the Tiger's net intact despite facing an expected goals tally of 1.66.
Matt Ingram makes a vital save against Watford (Hull City)
Whilst the defensive trio rightfully received the plaudits for their effort off the ball, they were arguably responsible for a catalogue of close of calls and nervy moments in possession. Rosenior stuck by his philosophy of playing the ball out of the back for this fixture, a high risk high reward style of play that requires a constant alertness and quality that few players possess. Tactically, this approach made sense, with Hull's primary talisman, Oscar Estupinan still serving the three game suspension picked up before the World Cup break leaving Tyler Smith as the lone forward for the fixture. The absence of a clear target man made the idea of long ball football almost impossible, shown in Smith's failure to win a single aerial duel during the course of the game. In theory, the arguments in favour of keeping the ball on the floor were evident however, when put into practice the tactic may have caused more problems for Hull than expected.
Watford's Press Too Much for Hull
The first problem for a Hull side attempting to play this way stemmed from the aggressive press from the Watford forward line. Slaven Bilić's side applied significant pressure on the City defence as soon as they received the ball, opting for at least four Hornet's players stepping up each time the Tigers played it short. Watford's pace in attack led to Hull being quickly pressured as soon as they played the ball, creating a recipe for disaster and a high chance of a defensive error. Hull clearly had little chance at beating the Hornets' press leading to 40% of Hull passes going backwards and 38% of passes taking place in the defensive third. An effective passing out of the back system sees the ball progress forward quickly in order to beat the opponents press and outnumber them on the attack. This was not the case as the Tigers found themselves failing to beat the press and playing backwards as a result.
Negative Play in Defence
Secondly, the Watford press led to negative play in possession for Hull, typified by the many occasions in which Matt Ingram would play it short to one of his centre halves only to receive the ball again seconds later, making no progress up the pitch. This unproductive style of play left Hull prone to errors and wasteful in possession. Hull's centre backs were clearly not comfortable in this role, shown in their passing stats over the course of the game. During the match, Alfie Jones and Sean McLoughlin contributed a combined 81 passes, making them them the 4th and 5th most prolific Tiger's players with the ball at their feet. Seemingly a strong showing from the players, this stat was trumped by an emphatic 149 passes for Watford's centre back pairing of Christian Kabasale and Criag Cathcart, with the latter putting up a game high 86 passes of his own. At face value, this stat that would suggest that Hull succeeded in their tactic as their defensive players spent less time on the ball however, a deeper look at the underlying numbers shows the real issue with this style of play.
Sean McLoughin makes a challenge under pressure from Watford
Of their 81 passes, 18 were backwards passes in their own defensive third. Essentially this meant that the Hull defenders spent 22% of the time playing the ball amongst themselves and their keeper, with virtually no progression up the pitch. In stark contrast, Watford's two central defenders amassed just 14 backwards passes in this part of the pitch. This stat proves particularly concerning for Hull when applied to the total number of passes during the game. On average, Kabasale and Cathcart managed to progress the ball forwards with 91% of passes, showing that even though they had more total passes than the Hull defence, their passes were far more effective and the ball moved out of the back line a lot quicker.
Too Much Emphasis on Ingram?
Continuing this trend, another problem Hull stumbled upon was the emphasis that Rosenior placed on goalkeeper, Matt Ingram, receiving and playing the ball under sustained pressure from Watford. The Hull keeper had a large duty with the ball at his feet, taking 36 touches and producing 30 passes. Showing just how much Ingram was on the ball was the fact that he produced one more touch and three more passes than Regan Slater, who played the full 90 minutes for the Tigers within the midfield as well as five more passes than Ryan Longman who was also on the pitch for the full duration of the game. The destination of Ingram's passes also adds to this narrative as he only managed seven passes (23%) outside of his defence with no passes reaching the black and amber attackers in the final third.
Matt Ingram with the ball at his feet against Watford
The Perfect System for Seri
These clear faults within Rosenior's system begs the question as to why Hull continued with this tactic throughout the game. In answer to this question, it is clear that for all the chaos it may have caused in defence, when Hull managed to move the ball forward the results were promising. It is clear that this style of play suited one man most: Tigers midfielder, Jean Michaël Seri.
Its fairly safe to say that Seri has not quite yet warranted his wage slip at Hull, with his early season promise quickly fizzling out and a stint on the bench causing concern across the fanbase. Despite this, Seri started the game strongly and in a Hull team more intent on passing ball along the ground, he excelled.
Perhaps down to the near month long break or the pressure of big name opposition, it is clear that the Ivorian stepped up against Watford and finally lived up to his stature. Seri flourished under Rosenior's system, taking it upon himself to progress the ball up the field and create chances on the attacking front. The 31 year old racked up a team high 85 touches and 63 passes, showing not only his ability to receive the ball but also his eagerness to move it once at his feet. Playing mostly on the half turn, Seri was a cause of frustration for Watford, forcing the opposition to foul him four times and winning 70% of his ground duels in the process. Amazingly, Seri was only dispossessed once, a testament to his excellent performance in the midfield.
Seri in action against Watford (Watford FC)
Some would argue that Seri excelled due to the lack of a physical number nine, which forced Hull's passing to be more midfield focused and less of an emphasis on longballs and crosses. In previous games, Hull's wingbacks had played vital roles in the attacking phases with crosses aimed for Estupinan being the fulcrum of the Tiger's attacking ethos. In the absence of the Colombian, crosses were not as viable meaning that Seri's role as primary playmaker was heightened. This led to the Ivorian creating four chances, this figure ranked highest amongst both sides and greater than the rest of his teammates combined.
Striking a Balance
Playing the ball out of the back has its obvious benefits and drawbacks and in the case of Hull City is a vital piece of Rosenior's playbook. With Estupinan returning for this weeks home fixture against Sunderland, the emphasis may once again be placed on the Tiger's top goal scorer. Tyler Smith filled in for the Colombian against Watford and his impact was minimal, managing just 14 touches and 7 passes during his spell on the field. The return of Estupinan will give Rosenior a crucial weapon for his arsenal however, the flashes of brilliance produced by Seri must not be forgotten.
The solution to the problems at Watford are clear. Whilst not every possession needs to start with passing out the back, finding Hull's talented midfielders who can progress the ball quickly must be the priority. Rosenior should also note that whilst Jones and McLoughlin are not yet as skilled on the ball as he may like, they will continue to grow in both confidence and ability. Presently, the issue can be curbed by only passing out of the back when the opposition press is light and knowing to play it long when the chance of a mistake is high.
Overall, few can poke holes in the Tigers performance against Watford and despite a few shaky moments in possession, the team will only continue to grow and develop under Rosenior. The Tigers will soon gel as a team and will see their style of play settle over time. For now, fans can be grateful that results are starting to go their way and a bit of the early season feel good factor has finally returned to East Yorkshire.
Comments