Two Gelhardt penalties clinch huge comeback win for the Tigers

Pictures courtesy of Hull City

Hull City 2 - 1 Preston North End

Sky Bet Championship

MKM Stadium

Attendance: 22,103

By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City Correspondent

Two second-half penalties from Joe Gelhardt gave Hull City a priceless win in their battle to avoid relegation – and at last rewarded a home crowd who had once again turned up in numbers.

Ahead of this Easter Monday clash against Preston North End, many were urging the players to give the excitement-starved Tigers fans something to shout about from the start. Get at them early on, don’t be timid, just go for it… Preston’s form had been pretty woeful, with just one win in the past 12 – they were ripe for the taking, surely. 

But this is City, after all. And, true to form, the first half proved as dreary as the damp, grey conditions – the exception being Nordin Amrabat, making his first start for the Tigers, coming in for Lincoln. He was one of four changes made by Rubén Sellés – Steven Alzate, Abu Kamara and Kyle Joseph were in for Gustavo Puerta, Kasey Palmer and João Pedro. 

As has become customary at the MKM Stadium, it was a slow burner in the opening stages, with few clear chances either way, though the work-rate of the terrier-like Amrabat (which belied his 38 years), was clear to see from the off, resulting in a couple of early corners. 

Amrabat then went close in the 18th minute, but fired straight at keeper David Cornell. Gelhardt also had an effort blocked after being set up by Kamara. 

After another Tigers corner was punched well away by Cornell, the ball found Milutin Osmajic, who swiftly advanced into the Tigers half – but he was out on his own and soon crowded out, having been well watched by Regan Slater.

As the half wore on, it reverted to the same old stodgy stuff, though. City were doing what they had been all season – gradually allowing the visitors to grow into the game after not managing to gain an early advantage. 

Preston’s best early chance of the half saw Osmajic break clear with Stefán Teitur Þórðarson in support, but the final ball let City off the hook. 

Moments later, a misjudged clearance from Sean McLoughlin – who had been under no pressure, with time enough to take a touch and clear – led to the opener. 

Ben Whiteman’s corner was only half-cleared, and it ricocheted off a couple of bodies before falling to Lewis Gibson, who had time and space to bury his shot from close range on 33 minutes.

Given that, at this point, results elsewhere were already going against City, this felt like the death knell for the Tigers’ survival hopes. 

The sizeable Preston following – many celebrating their Gentry Day by wearing bowler hats and smart suits – were quick to taunt the home fans. “How **** must you be, we’re winning away…” 

“Yes, we know…” many a Tigers fan either thought or said out loud… 

In the 38th minute, Lewie Coyle tested Cornell with a powerful 20-yard volley, but as the players went in for the break, loud boos – of frustration and anger – rang out.

The Tigers simply had to come back out on the attack, or their fate would seem all but sealed. 

And, remarkably, they did. 

In the 47th minute, a header from Slater in the area resulted in a corner, from which City kept up the pressure on the Preston box. A lovely little ball from Amrabat found Kamara near the byline, and he put it back into the mixer, causing not a little chaos in the Preston defence.

Either side of half-time has proved the Tigers’ most vulnerable period of late – but this time, they struck first. 

As the ball pinged about the area, a foul on Gelhardt by Mads Frokjaer-Jensen saw the referee point to the spot. Penalty! It felt for a moment like the sun had broken through the thick clouds. 

Replays suggested it was debatable whether Frokjaer-Jensen had actually made contact with Gelhardt, but that’s surely a moot point – go steaming in with a high foot in the area, that’s the risk you take… 

Gelhardt stepped up to take it, and, although Cornell got a big hand to it, he couldn’t stop the pace – and it was 1-1. Game on.  

Preston were still looking lively, though in truth they were rarely testing Pandur, who must have secretly relished having something of a quieter match of late. 

Soon after, Osmajic raced into the area once again, only to be stopped by a brilliant block from Egan, who ran to the North Stand and raised his fists to the crowd. There was that fight and bite the fans so wanted to see!

There was a bit of a lull at one point, presumably as news was filtering through of results elsewhere, with all of City’s relegation rivals now winning at this stage. With less than 30 minutes to go, the Tigers simply had to find something – just to keep pace with the chasing pack. 

In the 66th minute, a good low hit from McLoughlin was saved by the keeper – and in the resulting melee, Þórðarson was ruled to have fouled Joseph. 

There came the rarest of sights… the referee pointing to the spot twice in the space of less than 20 minutes. 

Gelhardt stepped up. Now, it takes balls of steel to stand up and take a spot-kick at the best of times – but knowing that it could win you the match and possibly keep you in the Championship, that’s pressure.

“Joff” proved his mettle, though, as this second penalty was a better effort than his first, sending Cornell the wrong way and the Tigers into the lead for the first time in what has seemed like forever. What a turnaround!

In the 78th minute, there was a standing ovation for Amrabat, as he was replaced by Lincoln and hugged by Sellés on his way off the pitch.

“Come on, you ‘ULLL” rang round the stadium as five tense minutes of added time were announced. Preston looked like they had given up the fight some time ago, but there was always the worry that the Tigers would do something daft. 

But they held on for a most precious three points, setting up a massive encounter with Derby – just two points behind them – on Saturday.

Whatever was said at half-time needs to be bottled and saved for the weekend. True, the first half was dismal and the Tigers still never really looked like scoring from open play – but their attitude in the second was transformed. 

They were braver, sharper and showed the kind of fight that’s been sorely lacking far too many times this season. With the fans behind them and the pressure mounting, they dug in and finally turned a home game their way. It wasn’t pretty, but it might just prove pivotal.