Backing of fans is driving us on – hero Koren

Twelve months ago, Hull City were at the wrong end of the Championship and staring down the barrel of financial ruin.

Tens of millions of pounds in debt and with a squad that seemed to lack the stomach for a relegation fight, the Tigers had not so much had their claws clipped as removed completely.

As has since been admitted by the KC Stadium powers-that-be, Hull’s football club were teetering on the edge of oblivion.

A year on, however, and the contrast could not be more marked with West Park being awash with optimism ahead of Saturday’s kick-off.

By 5.0pm that had given way to a sense of elation following the dramatic manner in which the Tigers had claimed another three points courtesy of Robert Koren’s trusty right boot deep into stoppage time.

City’s display may not have necessarily warranted the three points, Nigel Pearson’s side being too often muscled off the ball by the physical visitors and, for long periods, lacking the attacking guile of recent weeks.

But, make no mistake, the swatting of the Hornets was another step in the rehabilitation of Hull City.

The seventh-placed Tigers are only outside the play-off places by the slimmest of margins – Derby County, who boast the same goal difference as Pearson’s men, have scored more goals – and there can be no doubt that things are on the up in the East Riding.

Nowhere is this more evident than among supporters with the frowns of a year ago, when home defeats against Sheffield United and Portsmouth in the space of four days left City facing the very real possibility of back-to-back relegations, having given way to broad smiles, as match-winner Koren acknowledged after his dramatic late strike.

The Slovenian international said: “The fans are getting behind us more and that gives us all extra energy.

“This team has something special this season and we have a real belief. Last season, we did have some problems.

“It is not easy to go down from the Premier League and we struggled in the beginning. A year ago, our position was not good.

“But the new owner (Assem Allam) came in and gave the club an extra lift. Now, our coaching staff have built the team up and brought players in that they wanted.

“We have a really good squad with experienced and young players and looking forward to the challenge.”

Not for the first time this season, a dramatic second half involving the Tigers followed a tedious opening 45 minutes.

Both sides offered little in the way of attacking intent during that flat first half with City, in particular, finding it difficult to string together a meaningful passage of play.

The home side did get the ball in the net when Corry Evans fired in from close range but referee Gary Sutton had already blown for a clear foul on Scott Loach by Aaron Mclean.

That was, though, the only effort on goal that Hull managed in a turgid first half.

Watford also struggled to create during those opening 45 minutes, though this perhaps was not such a surprise with Sean Dyche’s side arriving in Yorkshire having failed to score in four of their last five games.

What the visitors did manage, however, was to open the scoring, albeit courtesy of an own goal when James Chester diverted a searching cross from Mark Yeates past Adriano Basso and into the City net.

That 37th-minute opener apart, though, there was very little to keep the crowd’s attention and the half-time whistle came as a blessed relief.

So poor had been the fare on offer, in fact, that few in the 18,324 crowd could have predicted the drama that was about to unfold.

City, while still far from at their best, improved hugely and drew level for the first time just six minutes after the restart when Matty Fryatt finished from close range.

Tom Cairney’s shot had created the opening with a shot that the Hornets failed to clear before Fryatt swooped but Chester also deserved credit for a crunching tackle in the centre circle that set up the move.

Considering the contrasting form of the two sides going into the game, City were strong favourites to push on and claim all three points.

This being the weird and wonderfully unpredictable world of the Championship meant it was, instead, Watford who struck next.

Again, Yeates was the creator with a sublime piece of skill on the right before the one-time Hull loanee picked out Chris Iwelumo with a floated cross that the Scotland international powered past Adriano Bassos.

Mclean brought Hull level for a second time midway through the second half, the striker owing a huge debt to the persistence and tenacity of Liam Rosenior as the full-back battled through a couple of tackles to create the opening.

It was Mclean’s first goal at the KC Stadium and set up a frantic final quarter as both sides pushed for a winner.

First, Yeates brought a fine save from Basso, who then denied John Eustace from close range. At the other end, Dele Adebola went close from Koren’s cross and Fryatt had a goalbound effort blocked before the decisive moment came in the fourth minute of stoppage time courtesy of Hull’s favourite Slovenian.

It meant that Pearson’s Tigers had come from behind to win for the first time in almost two years and, more importantly, confirmed that things are continuing to look up on the banks of the Humber.

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