Hull establishing themselves in the top half.
5 games in November for Hull, against opposition that Chairman Chris Kamara felt we could compete with before the start of the month.
Europa League:
We had two home games in the Europa League this month, and this was a good chance to gain an advantage in the fight for going through.
We started off against Dnipro. This was, perhaps, the most crucial game of the month, as we could take a big step towards finishing top 2. However, once again we struggled to contain Roman Zozulya. He gave Dnipro the lead after 19 minutes, and they held on until half time. Brucie sent out the boys firing in the second half, and Vincent Aboubakar equalized for us only 10 minutes after the break. We threw everything forward for the win, but couldn't convert our chances, so it ended in another 1-1 draw.
Our second game was at home against whipping boys Zulte Waregem, who are yet to register a point in the tournament. Still the Belgians shocked us to take the lead in the 27th minute. Goals from Sone Aluko and Dame N'Doye got us into the lead before the break, and in the second half we held firm to record a 2-1 win.
Even though we are 2nd in the group before the last game, we have a big challenge. Dnipro face Zulte Waregem away, and we face Fiorentina away. Fiorentina are already through on 12 points, but we are even with Dnipro on 8 points. In other words, we have to do better than Dnipro do, or else we're out. We will have to play our hearts out at the Artemio Franchi to have a chance!
Premier League:
We had some exciting games this month in the Premier League.
We started off against struggling QPR at home. We played a second string side, as fatigue is really starting to take it's toll on the squad, however, we produced a good performance. Robbie Brady gave us an early lead, which only lasted 5 minutes before Mauro Zarate equalized. However, as is common when your team is struggling, you can't seem to catch a break. In the 23rd minute, Mauricio Isla recieved a soft sending off. 11 vs 10, we took control of the game. Second half goals from Sone Aluko and Abel Hernandez all but secured us the 3 points, until Zarate made it exciting again 5 minutes from time. However, we held on for another important win.
We then traveled to Wales, to face a competitive Swansea. We were up for a tough game, but a very efficient performance gave us a very convincing win. Two goals from Jelavic, and two from on-fire Aluko put us 4-0 up. Charlie Austin, who has found his form, after a less than impressive start, gave Swansea a late consolation goal to make it a superb 4-1 win for the Tigers.
Full of confidence we traveled south to face a Southampton team who have performed really poorly, all things considered. Looking at the starting lineups, one could expect this to be an easy game for the Saints, but this season has showed a lot of teams not to underestimate Hull. In a rigid game, Sebastian Blanco gave us the lead just after the break. A rare goal from Victor Wanyama made it 1-1 and that is how the game ended. A decent point away from home.
Before our last game at home against Crystal Palace, we were in fantastic shape. A win would have put us in 4th place going into December. However, it seemed our luck had run out. Fatigue caused a lot of rotation and it seemed Chris Foy hadn't gotten enough publicity this season, so he decided to put on a show. Chamakh gave Crystal Palace an early lead. Mohammed Diame had to be carried off after 8 minutes after an elbow dislocated his jaw. No card given. Then Kurt Zouma got two of the softest bookings this season, 23 minutes in, we were down to 10 men. Crystal Palace were efficient, and by 77 minutes we were 4-0 down, courtesy of Zaha, Jedinak and Chung-Yong. Then Foy decided to create more excitement by booking substitute David Meyler twice in two minutes, sending him off as well. We got 6 bookings from our 13 fouls in this game, whereas Crystal Palace got no bookings from their 8 fouls. The KC Stadium gave Chris Foy a standing ovation after the game. It was just one of those days.
December:
We enter the month in a solid 8th, but we have a tough month ahead. A tough away game to impressive Burnley is our first match, before we face Fiorentina in the all-deciding final game in the group stage of the EL. This is directly followed by Man City at home, Liverpool away and Arsenal at home. After the extremely tough fixtures, we face West Brom away to finish off the month. If we beat Fiorentina away, I will be pleased no matter what the rest of the results are, chairman Chris Kamara was quoted saying. However, fans of Hull will be less than pleased should the team lose all 5 league games.
