GORDON STRACHAN was complaining only last week about the meagre number of his players who last season plied their trade in the English Premier League. That figure has now doubled.
Hull City beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 in the SkyBet Championship Play-Off at Wembley, which it has been estimated will earn the club a minimum of £200million, with two Scots on the park, Robert Snodgrass and Andy Robertson, one on the bench, Shaun Maloney and another injured, Allan McGregor.
Okay, so it not quite the same as when Liverpool and Nottingham Forest won the European Cup with their Scottish lads the undoubted superstars, but it’s a small step in the right direction
That the talented Snodgrass, only just back from an 18 month spell out with a serious knee injury, played well in the match and even had a hand in the winner would have pleased the national team manager who cannot have enough of his squad operating in English football’s top tier.
Strachan now has eight who he can call upon from the Premier League which is an improvement on four, a figure which of course could go up down by the end of the summer transfer window. In a World Cup campaign such experience could prove the difference between qualification and the usual.
Hull deserved to win an enthralling match. The Scottish football authorities are considering making their Championship play-off a one-off match; this is a good thing.
It is after all final in all-but name and these games down in England over the years, including this one even if it didn’t quite reach the levels of some previous encounters, have been superb, full of tension and excitement. We need get some of that.
The atmosphere was superb and most of that was down to the Sheffield Wednesday supporters who outnumbered and out-sang those in gold and black.
This backing inspired the men from Sheffield, who had two Scots of their own in Ross Wallace and Barry Bannan in the ranks, throughout the opening 20 minutes. In some ways this is where the game was won and lost because they had so much possession and a few decent chances and yet the deadlock remaining unbroken.
Only three minutes had gone when Wednesday danger man Fernando Forestieri left Hull captain Michael Dawson for dead. The defender was having none it and chopped down his opponent. A yellow card and free-kick duly followed, Forestieri took the set-piece himself and his well struck effort had to be punched over by Eldin Jakupovic.
Within minutes a brilliant turn in the middle of the park from former Celtic striker Gary Hooper set up an attack which ended with Forestieri on the edge of the box with the ball at his feet and his shot was kept out by Jakupovic. Then Wallace made the Hull keeper work again with a free-kick that could easily have sneaked in at the post.
Things died down after that initial burst of action which suited Hull who could not get into the game at all. However, with what was their first real attach, the men from Humberside came close to a goal after 28 minutes.
Snodgrass’s corner was a good one, Abel Hernandez freed himself from his marker and the striker’s header was accurate, but Wednesday’s Kieran Lee was on his own goal-line to make a vital block.
That got the Hull going. A pass from Mo Diame on 33 minutes should have been cut out by Tom Lees who got a toe to the ball and nothing else. This allowed Hernandez to get behind the defence and get off a shot was which was kept out by the shoulder of Westwood.
Then Diame danced his way into the Wednesday box, his step-overs proving too much for his would-be challengers, and his shot rattled the outside of the Sheffield post.
And before half-time Westwood kept out Moses Odubajo who was found inside the box with a superb pass by Ahmed Elmohamady. Those wearing blue and white were happy to get of the pitch still level.
Westwood had more work to do seven minutes into the second-half when Snodgrass with a superb pass picked out Dawson unmarked at the back post but he became the latest Hull player to be denied by an inspired goalie.
And then Robertson missed a sitter. What he was doing in the centre-forward position on 58 minutes only he knows and how the left-back managed to shoot over from ten yards after being set-up by Hernandez is something he can only answer.
The Scot’s blushes were saved on 72 minutes. Snodgrass took the ball towards goal, slipped a pass to Diame who had glanced up and then from outside the box curled an unstopped curling effort, Jakupovic got a hand on the ball but to no avail, into the top corner. It was a lead Hull never looked like losing.
Wednesday, who were very much in the underdogs and kept going but the lacked just that bit of class which could have made the difference. Hull were delighted and Strachan would have been as well.
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