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Opinion

Ruben Selles made one fatal error at Hull City, it could cost the Tigers their Championship status 

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Hull City’s Championship survival hopes took a massive blow on Good Friday as the Tigers slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Swansea City.

Ruben Selles’ side went into the clash in South Wales with the hope of achieving all three points after Hull drew 1-1 against Coventry City on Monday night.

A late equaliser from Abu Kamara left the Tigers three points above the bottom three, knowing that another positive result would boost their chance of staying in the division.

But, unfortunately, the East Yorkshire outfit produced a lacklustre performance at the most crucial time as a controversial second-half penalty from Zan Vipotnik was enough to condemn Hull to their 20th defeat of the campaign.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
18 PortsmouthPortsmouth43 13 10 20 55 69 -14 49
19 Oxford UnitedOxford United43 12 12 19 43 61 -18 48
20 Hull CityHull City43 11 12 20 41 51 -10 45
21 DerbyDerby43 11 10 22 44 55 -11 43
22 LutonLuton43 11 10 22 38 63 -25 43

Worryingly, the performance also exposed the major problem Hull have had this season, and that is putting the ball in the back of the net.

Ruben Selles during Hull City AFC v Plymouth Argyle FC - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images

Hull City have struggled to score goals this season

In the loss against the Swans, Hull carried little attacking threat, only registering two shots on target and an xG of 0.56.

The visitors failed to create any clear-cut opportunities as the players lacked the urgency and cutting edge needed in the battle to avoid relegation.

Even the ‘exciting’ Joe Gelhardt couldn’t muster the creativity and guile required in attack to seal a positive result at the Liberty Stadium.

Hull City’s Championship top scorers 2024/25
Joao Pedro – 6 goals
Joe Gelhardt – 3 goals
Chris Bedia – 3 goals
Mason Burstow – 2 goals
Xavier Simons – 2 goals

Gelhardt is Hull’s second top scorer in the Championship this term, despite only joining on loan from Leeds United in January, while two players not currently at the club make up the top five.

Chris Bedia had his loan spell cancelled to join Swiss side Young Boys, and holding midfielder Xavier Simons joined Wycombe Wanderers for the remainder of the campaign.

Alarmingly, Joao Pedro’s total of six goals makes him the clubs top scorer this term and considering there are only three matches left, that is incredibly low for this stage of the campaign.

Only Luton Town have scored fewer than Hull’s total of 41 goals this term, exposing their lack of clinical edge and why they could be relegated.

Ruben Selles failed to sign a goalscorer in January

Hull were incredibly active during the January transfer window as eight new players were brought to the MKM stadium, including four attackers.

Veteran winger Nordin Amrabat, attacking midfielder Lincoln, wideman Louie Barry and forward Gelhardt all arrived.

Selles had an incredible stroke of misfortune when Barry’s loan spell was cut short with a knee cartilage injury, returning to Aston Villa for treatment.

But the rest of the captures, aside from Gelhardt, have been underwhelming. Fenerbache loanee Lincoln is yet to showcase his true talent in the Championship, Amrabat has mainly been used as an impact sub, while Joseph hasn’t looked like finding the net or being up to the standard.

The Tigers failed to find a true goalscorer in the transfer window, despite making multiple additions, and that is a problem that could come back to bite them in the final three matches.