Hull City seek to strike right balance in second leg with Manchester United

Only one club has previously overcome a two-goal deficit from the first leg to reach either Wembley or the Millennium Stadium, Aston Villa managing the feat in 1994 when they knocked out Tranmere Rovers on penalties after trailing 3-1 at the halfway stage of the two-legged tie.

If City are to book a fourth trip to Wembley inside three years, clearly the odds are firmly against them thanks to Marouane Fellaini’s late goal at Old Trafford a fortnight ago. Davies, though, believes there is a way back for the East Riding club.

“It is always tough against Manchester United,” said the Hull defender, who is a doubt for the second leg due to a hamstring strain suffered in last weekend’s 2-0 loss at Chelsea.

“Even if it was 0-0, this would still be a tough game at the KCOM. A Mourinho team with a 2-0 lead won’t exactly come to Hull and be gung-ho.

“They will be looking to conserve legs with the FA Cup in mind at the weekend, plus the league game against us the following Wednesday.

“We will have to be patient. We need to start quick and get in their faces from the start, don’t get me wrong about that.

“But if we are gung-ho from minute one then a team like Manchester United can pick you off. And, suddenly, it is 3-0. You are out of it then. And no-one wants to be on the end of a hiding. We have to ease ourselves into the game. And take our chances when they come along. At 2-1, you never know. But the onus is on to cause Manchester United problems.”

Thursday night’s second leg comes amid a hectic period for the Tigers, who are due to take on Fulham in the FA Cup on Sunday and then meet Manchester United again in the Premier League at Old Trafford a week tomorrow.

Football has rightly been secondary to the concerns over Ryan Mason, who fractured his skull in an accidental clash of heads with Gary Cahill during Sunday’s loss at Stamford Bridge.

The club’s record signing was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington as the game continued. He is expected to remain in hospital for the next few days.

His team-mates are understandably very concerned for Mason’s health but they will also have to try and focus on the football. After the double-header with Mourinho’s Red Devils and the FA Cup clash at Fulham, City then host Liverpool before travelling to Arsenal on February 11.

Such a schedule is demanding but one that Davies insists will not faze Hull.

“It is relentless,” added the defender. “We had a similar run at the start of the season by playing a lot of the big trams back-to-back. The computer has done it to us again.

“We have one out of the way, we put in a good performance and we can, hopefully, take that positive into these games.

“Another good performance against Manchester United can help again and then we take it from there. Unfortunately, on a weekend of a few upsets, we were not able to do the same here. But there were positives.”

Goals from Cahill and Diego Costa condemned City to defeat at Chelsea but there was little doubt the Yorkshire side were on the end of some questionable decisions from referee Neil Swarbrick.

His failure to award a penalty early in the second half when the visitors trailed 1-0 was a big talking point.

“It is too easy to say you don’t get those when up against the bigger teams,” added Davies. “To me, it looked like Abel (Hernandez) taking a touch and the defender sticking his leg out and catching him.

“Sometimes, it is a little bit easier not to give when the player is heading out of the box. It really should have been their throw. The defender didn’t touch it (the ball).

“But the linesman, by giving it to them, makes a mess of the referee. It is unfortunate. I do believe there was a foul on Abel Hernandez (during the build-up to Costa’s opener in first half stoppage time) that wasn’t given.

“That happens and it is up to us to do better when that cross comes in. And put our bodies on the line in front of Costa before he scores.

“We can have no complaints with how the goal went in. It was just you sometimes get those things with Abel and sometimes you don’t.”

Davies watched the final quarter of the game from the dressing room after limping out of the action amid a tactical reshuffle that saw Oumar Niasse brought on and Hull switch to a back four.

“My hamstring that I did against Everton (on December 30) felt tight,” added the defender. “I played Everton and West Brom with it but then it went tight again at Chelsea.

“Plus, being on a booking if I tried to play on and then made a silly lunge because of the hamstring, I would kill the team and get myself sent off. So, it was better to come off and let someone who is fit come on.”