NOAH OHIO'S POTENTIAL SHINES THROUGH AS HULL CITY TAKE GIANT PLAY-OFF STEP

Hull City's desperation for three points paid dividends on Wednesday night with a thrilling 3-2 win at Coventry City in another barnstorming game of Championship chaos.

Goals from Jaden Philogene, Fabio Carvalho and Noah Ohio earned an 11th away win of the season and a third success in five to keep the Tigers' hopes of making the top six well and truly alive as we head into the penultimate weekend.

Rosenior's men are now just three points behind West Brom and Norwich City with only two games of a pulsating campaign to come and all to play for on Saturday when automatic promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town arrive at the MKM Stadium.

Here, City reporter Barry Cooper reflects on a captivating contest in the Midlands....

Character aplenty

There have been plenty of moans and groans in recent weeks with many of them justified. This was a game City had to win and win it they did. In the first half, Rosenior's side were superb. They dominated, controlled it and played it at their pace. Coventry scored the goal and a fine shot it was, but his players recovered well to restore their lead and be in front at the break.

The second half was an altogether different affair with Haji Wright and Ellis Simms breathing life into the Sky Blues, and having conceded another really soft goal, it would have been easy for Rosenior's side to cave in with the home team buoyed and 25,000 home fans right with them.

After a sticky spell, the visitors regained some control, scored the winning goal and took advantage of their hosts' struggles to notch an 11th away win of the campaign.

Magical Midlands

That's City's fifth and final trip to the Midlands this season and in truth, it's been quite a fruitful part of the world for them this season.

In those five games, the only one they've lost is West Brom and that was a tad contentious, winning the other four. This 3-2 win at Coventry joins victories at Stoke City, Birmingham City and Leicester City.

Ohio on the money

Fans have been asking why the striker hasn't been involved in recent weeks and when given the chance, he showed just how lethal he can be. Against a tiring back-line, the Dutchman created the moment and forced the ball into the back of the net, and from then on, there was no coming back.

That's two winning goals now for Ohio, both off the bench and in the latter stages away from home. His hold-up play was also crucial to help City get up the pitch in the closing stages. He's a real threat, particularly in the latter stages against defences who are fatigued.

It remains to be seen what happens in the future, but he's a real talent and used correctly, he can be hugely effective as he's shown at Rotherham and now against the Sky Blues.

Greaves the great

Once again, and for the umpteenth time this season, Jacob Greaves delivered one heck of a performance. Headers, tackles and God knows what else, he set the tone from the beginning of the second half when he chased down Haji Wright and swept the ball away from him inside the box.

When City needed their talismanic defender, he was there in the right place at the right time and this was another performance which summed up a tremendous campaign for the 23-year-old.

Delap's determination

How good is it to see him back? Throughout the first half, he was a pain in the backside for Coventry, with his powerful, direct runs. It was everything you thought it would be and proved yet again what a big miss he has been.

It was his driving run which forced the error for the penalty, and while replays suggest it was outside the box, he still created the moment and earned that little bit of luck to go his way.

The one disappointment was that he didn't get on the scoresheet, but every time he threatened to pull the trigger, he was blocked by panicked, sprawling defenders.

Fill the MKM for the finale

Everything now rolls over to Saturday at 8pm. Everybody associated with City will hope West Brom and Norwich both slip up when they play in the 3pm games and if they do, then it's game on.

It may yet prove to be the final home game of the season, but whether or not that proves to be the case, it promises to be an absolute humdinger of a contest with both sides chasing similar things.

City need their fans to come on Saturday night and create a cauldron of noise and really make home advantage count, and if they do that, and their team responds, there's every chance it could be one of the great evenings under the lights.

2024-04-25T08:00:20Z dg43tfdfdgfd