Hull 5 Rotherham 1: Momentum with us, insists Bruce

Jake Livermore scores to make it 5-1.Jake Livermore scores to make it 5-1.
Jake Livermore scores to make it 5-1.
Hull manager Steve Bruce hopes an emphatic 5-1 win over Rotherham can give his players the momentum they need going into the Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-finals.

But Bruce also wants an end to the protests which saw fans display red cards before a second successive home game in opposition to owner Assem Allam, who wants to introduce a membership scheme at the KC Stadium.

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Following the 5-1 thrashing of Rotherham Bruce said: “We’re always saying it’s nice to have a bit of momentum and it was good to see today. We really looked a very good side.”

Bruce admitted his starting line-up against Rotherham was close to the one which will face Derby over two legs.

“It’s nice to go in with a bit of impetus but they are two huge games to play in,” he said.

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“All of my big players and the experienced ones were playing today.”

Bruce again expressed his wish that fans would turn their efforts towards supporting the players.

He said: “We have got a big game coming up and hopefully the fans get behind the team. I can understand their disappointment with membership schemes but now is the time to forget protests and get behind the team.”

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Rotherham grabbed the lead when Lee Frecklington hooked the ball in with his left foot with 15 minutes on the clock.

Hull were level as Abel Hernandez nodded down a cross and Robert Snodgrass curled the ball into the top right corner with 25 minutes gone.

A minute later Hernandez scored with an overhead kick and Jake Livermore netted Hull’s third six minutes before the break as he touched the ball past Lee Camp before scoring from a narrow angle.

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Two minutes later Mo Diame scored Hull’s fourth, beating Kirk Broadfoot to the ball before skipping past the defender and shooting home.

Hull extended their lead on the hour when Livermore scored following a clever backheel by Snodgrass.

Rotherham manager Neil Warnock admitted a shocking 20-minute period in the first half, when Hull scored four times, was as badly as his players had performed since he joined the club.

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He said: “We started the game well but we had that 20-minute period where we just lost the plot.

“We were very lucky to get away with four. We had to play for our pride second half, I didn’t want to get battered by eight or nine goals.”

When asked what he said to his players at half-time Warnock responded: “I couldn’t really repeat it to be honest but my blood pressure went up a bit.

“If you are as bad as that in certain areas you are going to get battered with sides as good as Hull are.

“They showed if they are not all together they can get beaten by anybody.”