august01news

11/8/01 - Exeter City 1 Hull City 3
The Tigers came from a goal behind to earn a terriffic opening day win at St James Park, thanks to goals from Theodore Whitmore, Mark Greaves and Lawrie Dudfield. Stuart Campbell put the Grecians ahead after 22 minutes atfter a scramble in City's box following a free kick moved forward. Ryan Williams was substituted because of a knee injury minutes later and it was his replacement Whitmore who headed home a pin-point David Beresford cross later in the first half to level the scores. Let's hope Williams' injury is not too serious... After the break, Mark Greaves put City ahead. Theo turned an Exeter defender on the right of the box and delivered the ball low to the back post for Greavsie to slam it home. And Lawrie Dudfield increased the lead on 85 minutes with a tap in at the back post after his initial shot from Lee Philpott's cross was headed back back across goal to him by one of the home side's defenders.
It was a deserved victory for the Tigers, made even more difficult by a referee who missed some blatant fouls, and gave decisions one way and failed to replicate them for similar incidents for the other side. He also made a controversial decision for Exeter's goal and generally gave nothing to us all afternoon. But City's quality shone through - the only time we were under serious pressure was a 15 minute spell mid-way through the second half with the score at 2-1. Theodore Whitmore helped City regain control of the game however, and will surely be first in line to take Williams right wing spot while he is out injured. Theo's passing and control was again first class, and his performance was comlemented by equally impressive displays from Mark Greaves, David Beresford and Lawrie Dudfield. Ian Goodison did seem slightly unsure at times at left-back, but coped better as the game drew on.

You can find a full Report here.

28/8/01 - FA To View Incident
The FA have revealed they are to study referee Scott Mathieson's official report of Monday's game against Kidderminster before making any judgment on the missile throwing towards the end of the match. Apparently Mathieson has put the coin throwing in to his report, but it is unknown whether he saw Tony Bird's disgraceful display and has included that in it. Adam pearson has however revealed the club will use the video evidence in an attempt to get Bird to receive punishment for his part in the events. In a move to stamp out the missile throwing, Pearson revealed extra stewards would be deployed to the East Stand and Cameras fitted monitoring crowd behaviour. Any supporters caught throwing missiles will be banned from the ground for life. And in a related note, FA and Football League observers will be on hand at the York game.

27/8/01 - Hull City 2 Kidderminster Harriers 1
City gained wthe win they so desperately needed despite late drama infront of 8,835 at Boothferry Park. Gary Alexander put the Tigers infront shortly after the break with a brilliant header from a Lawrie Dudfield cross, but with 10 minutes to go Tony Bird equalised for Kiddie from the penalty spot. Justin Whittle made a marvellous tackle on Stewart Hadley after an initial mistake, knocking the ball cleanly back to Matt Glennon. The referee, 10 yards away, gave nothing, but saw his linesman, 40 yards away flagging and duely awarded the spot kick. After Bird scored the penalty, he ran over to the East stand and goaded the Tigers supporters in there to a ridiculous degree, especially considering he received no stick during the game. Unfortunately, some coins were thrown at him on to the pitch, but if the FA simply watch Bird's antics, surely he should be the main culprit? Anyway, despite not looking at all like scoring, Kiddie had managed to draw level. Thankfully, they did not take away a point they didn't really deserve, as Gary Alexander popped up to hit home a shot from Rodney Rowe's shot/pass from close range. Cue mad celebrations! A great win for City, really needed, but unfortunately marred by the aforementioned incident and a bad injury to Mark Greaves in the Second Half. Greavsie will be out for approximately 3-4 months after breaking his ankle.

A Full Match Report can be found here.

3/8/01 - Hull City 2 Obillic Belgrade 2
The Tigers produced a fantastic performance to earn a well-deserved draw against a high quality Obillic side infront of another strong crowd at Boothferry Park. Gary Alexander gave City the lead in the first half by slotting in from a Lawrie Dudfield cross, but the visitors gained the advantage with goals from Dragan Simovic and Nenad Mladenovic after the break, the second of which came from an error by Paul Musselwhite as the ball went under his arms as he dived to the right. However, Rob Matthews hit a stunning volley in the last minute of time to earn City a draw which must give them great confidence heading in to next saturday's League clash with Exeter. Lee Philpott was taken off late in the game after a reckless challenge, and has a leg injury, the extent of which is as yet unknown. Also, Lawrie Dudfield received treatment off the pitch in the first half but returned to the field, only to be substituted at half time, probably as a precaution.

6/8/01 - Willo Joins Macclesfield
Long serving keeper Steve Wilson has joined Macclesfield Town today. He spent a spell on loan at Moss Rose towards the end of last season and apparently impressed, leading boss Gil Prescott to now take him on board permanently following his release from City in the summer. Let's hope Willo has a successful time there - He always gave it 100% for the Tigers - and I would suspect he'll get a nice reception upon his return to Boothferry Park next February.

5/8/01 - Whitmore To Stay
Brian Little has revealed that Theodore Whitmore has been taken off the Transfer List as he is happy for the Jamaican to stay at Boothferry Park. The dramatic U-Turn has no doubt been brought on by the very impressive displays Theo has made in pre-season friendlies - against Kilmarnock in particular when he grabbed 2 goals in a Man of the Match display. This is in stark contrast to his performances last term, when his form nose-dived following the car crash in Jamaica which killed his team-mate Steve Malcolm. After returning from Jamaica, Whitmore never regained his place in the team and was not even called on for the play-off games against Leyton Orient. This led to him being put on the free transfer list during the summer. But with no offers made for the International star, he began Pre-Season training with the rest of the squad and has now taken the chance given to him by Brian Little in the friendlies. Tigers fans must hope his form shown is carried in to the season proper, as there is no doubt Whtmore at his best can terrorise any defence in the Division.

25/8/01 - Carlisle United 0 Hull City 0
The Tigers produced another below par display against Carlisle today and failed to pick up all three points for the second week running. Carlisle infact came closest to scoring when Tony Hopper hit the bar early in the first half, and caused the City defence a few problems in the opening stages of the match. The Tigers were the more dominant side in the Second Half but again failed to break the deadlock and had to settle for only the 1 point. It was clear throughout the game that not enough was being created through the middle or via the wings - Whitmore and Beresford played well but again were not backed up by Goodison and Edwards, but they are of course out of position... Far too often the ball was lofted forward to strikers who do not win too many headers, again mostly from the full backs. We now lie 4 points behind Bristol Rovers, and more frighteningly behind York in the table. Clearly, the team and manaagement need to sort things out quickly so we do not find ourselves too far behind the pace-setters in these early stages of the season. And the next chance to pick up a win is on Monday, when Kidderminster visit Boothferry Park. They will likely adopt some kind of defensive strategy, so it will be interesting to see how City have learned from these last two matches as far as breaking the opposition down.

25/8/01 - Cup Draw
City have drawn Derby County away from home in the League Cup Second Round. The tie will take place in the week beginning 10th September. The club will be releasing ticket details soon.

23/8/01 - North Stand Home Only
Adam Pearson has revealed that the North Stand will be opened to City supporters only for games this season when the opposition bring less than 500 supporters. The first match when this will happen is next Monday, for the visit of Kidderminster Harriers. Away supporters will be housed in the last seating section of the West Stand which has recently been occupied by Tigers fans, as well as the Well infront.

21/8/01 - Wrexham 2 Hull City 3
The Tigers produced another impressive display away from home to advance in to the Second Round of the League Cup. Goals from Theo Whitmore, Mark Greaves and Gary Alexander were enough to see off the Wrexham, for whom ex-Tiger Craig Faulconbridge netted. Whitmore gave City the lead mid-way through the first half when he turned a defender and placed a cool shot past Kristian Rogers. Greaves doubled the lead early in the second, heading home from a David Beresford cross, before Faulconbridge pulled one back for the home side. However, minutes after missing the rebound of an Ian Goodison effort which hit the post, Gary Alexander capitalised on a defensive error and showed great composure to camly place the ball past the keeper, restoring City's two goal advantage. Kevin Russell reduced the deficit to one for the Reds in Injury Time, and Brian Carey was sent off for his second bookable offence shortly after. Moments later, the final whistle was blown to seal the Tigers' great and deserved victory.