Burnley 1 Hull City 0: Barmby left frustrated as Hull’s chances go begging

Just a few hours earlier, the Tigers had been beaten by the Clarets for the second time in 36 days.

Barmby’s team remained sixth in the table despite the New Year’s Eve loss but, even so, there was no mistaking the sense of frustration felt in the Hull camp at how they had somehow emerged empty-handed from a game in which they created the lion’s share of the chances.

At the KC Stadium in November, Burnley had hit back from two goals down with just 12 minutes remaining to win 3-2.

That defeat had been hard to take for Hull but, if anything, losing the return was even more difficult to stomach due to the manner in which the three points were gifted to Eddie Howe’s side.

Wayward finishing that saw 13 of the 14 chances Hull fashioned miss the target was a factor. But even more pertinent was the dreadful first half mix-up between Peter Gulacsi and Jack Hobbs that allowed Martin Paterson to net what turned out to be the winner.

No wonder, therefore, that boss Barmby was left cursing his side’s lack of a killer instinct after watching Burnley claim a sixth straight win over their Yorkshire rivals.

He said: “My feeling is one of frustration more than anything else. In the last two games, we have created enough chances to win ten games, never mind two.

“We need to be more ruthless. We are creating chances but we can’t keep saying that. We have to turn those chances into goals.”

The soft manner in which Paterson was allowed to score his first goal of the season will, no doubt, have contributed as much to Barmby’s frustration as his side’s ineffectiveness in front of goal.

Of the two Hull players involved, Gulacsi was the more culpable due to being caught in two minds when a towering kick from opposite number Lee Grant came hurtling his way out of a miserable Lancashire sky.

Had the Hungarian decided in that instance either to stay where he was and leave the ball to Hobbs or come and collect then the danger would have been averted.

Instead, Gulacsi’s response was to set off towards the ball, then stop dead in his tracks before deciding once again to advance forward.

It proved a fatal misjudgement as Hobbs, believing his goalkeeper had stayed put, attempted to cushion the ball back to where he thought Gulacsi was still standing. The result of the mix-up was Gulacsi only being able to partially block the ball, which in turn allowed Paterson to swoop and fire into an empty net.

To a side who pride themselves on defensive organisation, conceding such a soft goal clearly hurt – the Hull players’ spirits surely not being helped by Paterson’s strike having come on the back of what had been the visitors best spell of the first half.

Hull had threatened as early as the third minute when neat work by Aaron Mclean created an opening for Matty Fryatt, who powered a shot straight at Lee Grant.

But it took until almost the half-hour mark for the game to stop being bogged down in midfield.

Most of which fell to Hull. The best came courtesy of a delightful move involving Robert Koren and Andy Dawson that saw the Burnley defence opened up down their right flank.

Dawson, after reaching the byline, then looked up and rolled an inviting pass back for Hobbs, who could only side-foot his shot wide with Grant scrambling across his line.

Hull’s veteran left-back was again involved when the home goal next came under threat just three minutes later, this time Dawson’s pinpoint cross being headed wide by Cameron Stewart when Mclean seemed much better placed.

Burnley’s goal came just 41 seconds after that miss but even this could not stem the tide of Hull attacks as Dawson fired over and then Mclean got in behind Kieran Trippier before drilling the ball across goal when he was perhaps better placed to shoot.

Any hope the home fans in the 15,071 crowd had that the interval could provide some form of respite for their side proved optimistic as Hull continued to threaten.

Again, however, the lack of a cutting edge up front proved to be the visitors’ undoing as Koren, in meeting a Dawson cross, side-footed wide and then followed that by twice blazing over from close range.

Stung by the third of those misses, Burnley finally showed some attacking intent as Paterson brought a fine save from Adriano Basso. Jay Rodriquez then shot wide before Hull again regained the initiative in the closing stages thanks to Burnley’s tendency to retreat too deep.

Once again, though, the Tigers were unable to apply the finishing touch as Richard Garcia and James Chester put efforts wide to ensure the Clarets moved up to seventh ahead of today’s trip to Leeds United.

Such a lofty standing would have been unthinkable when these two sides met at the KC Stadium on the final Saturday of November, not least as when trailing 2-0 with just 12 minutes on the clock the Clarets were on course to be dumped into the relegation zone.

Burnley’s recovery since then underlines just what a crazy division the Championship can be and manager Eddie Howe is in no doubt that Hull, despite twice succumbing to his side in a little over a month, will be among the challengers able to last the course.

He said: “The league is so tight and the table so congested. A couple of wins and you are right up there but a couple of defeats and you can be back down again.

“Hull are as good a side as we have played this season, in both games. I don’t really want to think as far back as the game at Hull as we were struggling at the time, though the game was similar in that Hull were again very good. They are a good side who will be up there.”

Hull have turned down an undisclosed bid from Leicester for Cameron Stewart.

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