EFL

Coventry City 2-3 Hull City: Tigers win five-goal thriller to keep play-off hopes alive

By Sports Desk April 24, 2024

Hull City kept their hopes of gatecrashing the Championship play-offs alive with a thrilling 3-2 win over beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Coventry City on Wednesday.

Noah Ohio scored the winner with his first touch after coming on as a second-half substitute as Hull moved within three points of sixth-placed Norwich City with two games to play.

Coventry, meanwhile, saw their own hopes of returning to Wembley Stadium for a second successive play-off final all but ended, as they sit six points further back with three matches remaining. 

Three days on from their remarkable comeback against Manchester United, the Sky Blues twice fought back to level things at Coventry Building Society Arena. Jaden Philogene's shot squirmed under goalkeeper Bradley Collins to put Hull ahead 31 minutes in, but Kasey Palmer levelled within five minutes with a stunning free-kick.

Hull went back ahead in controversial circumstances on the stroke of half-time, Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho converting from the penalty spot despite replays showing Joel Latibeaudiere's foul on Liam Delap took place outside the area.

Mark Robins' men again dragged themselves back into the game as Bobby Thomas headed Jay Dasilva's cross in just before the hour mark, but it was Liam Rosenior's visitors who found a winner.

Thomas went from hero to villain as his poor back pass sold Collins short, and Ohio got a toe to the ball to score the winner, keeping Hull's hopes of Premier League football intact. 

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    Chelsea continued their quest for the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League by hammering Noah 8-0 on Thursday. 

    Enzo Maresca's side are one of six sides still with a perfect record in the competition, but sit top of the pile with their superior goal difference following their Stamford Bridge mauling.

    Tosin Adarabioyo headed the hosts into a 12th minute lead before Marc Guiu capitalised on Goncalo Silva's loose pass 84 seconds later to double their advantage. 

    Chelsea notched their third from another corner, this time through Axel Disasi, with another defensive error punished by Joao Felix's deft finish over Ognjen Cancarevic. 

    Mykhailo Mudryk then netted the pick of the first-half goals with a curled effort into the top corner, with Felix grabbing his brace four minutes before the interval. 

    It then took Chelsea 24 minutes to get their seventh. Christopher Nkunku saw his initial effort saved by Cancarevic but was able to squeeze in the rebound at the near post. 

    Yan Eteki then fouled Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the box, with a penalty given after a VAR review. Nkunku stepped up and smashed the ball down the middle for his fifth goal of the competition this season. 

    Data Debrief: Blues sink Noah's Ark

    Chelsea are on a roll in the Europa Conference League and have now scored 16 goals in their three games in the competition so far. 

    Six of those came in the first half, with their 6-0 advantage at the interval the biggest by an English side at the break of a major European game since Derby County were winning 9-0 against Finn Harps in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup.

    The Blues ended the contest with a whopping 5.44 expected goals (xG) from their 31 shots, compared to Noah's 0.61 from their 15 attempts on Filip Jorgensen's net. 

  • Manchester United 2-0 PAOK: Brilliant Amad earns hosts first Europa League win Manchester United 2-0 PAOK: Brilliant Amad earns hosts first Europa League win

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    The Red Devils drew their opening three matches of the league phase but the excellent Amad netted twice in the second half after a fine individual display at Old Trafford.

    The winger was unfortunate not to have a first-half penalty after a trip from Abdul Baba, while his deep cross for Rasmus Hojlund was headed straight at the goalkeeper from close range.

    Andre Onana then tipped Mady Camama's dipping half-volley over shortly before the break but Amad broke the deadlock when he brilliantly looped his header over Dominik Kotarski from Bruno Fernandes' delivery.

    Andrija Zivkovic almost responded immediately before Alejandro Garnacho had strong shouts for another spot-kick from Jonny Otto's challenge waved away before Amad tested Kotarski one-on-one.

    United had a huge let off when Tarik Tissoudali was left unmarked in the area and woefully straight at Onana, but Amad settled any nerves with a brilliant bending 20-yard effort into the left-hand side of the goal with 13 minutes remaining.

    Data Debrief: No Greek tragedy as Amad ensures there's no unlucky number seven

    Prior to their victory over the Greek side, United were winless in six consecutive European matches (D4, L2), matching their worst stretch since 1980 to 1983. It means they have still never gone seven without a win in European fixtures.

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    Amad was, of course, influential in the victory and his opening goal marked his first in the Europa League since netting against Milan on March 11, 2021.

    It marked his first ever brace for United, while five of his goals across all competitions for the club have now come at Old Trafford.

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    Ange Postecoglou believes Tottenham's youngsters will have learned a lot from their 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray in the Europa League on Thursday. 

    Yunus Akgun's stunning opener was cancelled out by 19-year-old Will Lankshear's first senior goal for Spurs, before Victor Osimhen's brace put the hosts in control at the break. 

    Lankshear, however, would be sent off for a second bookable offence on the hour-mark, though Spurs did reduce the deficit through Dominic Solanke with a man less. 

    Postecoglou named several inexperienced European players in his starting line-up, with 18-year-old's Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall also starting at Rams Park. 

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    "Look, Will took his goal well, he worked hard for the team. Obviously, he hasn't had a lot of experience in senior football, so he would have learnt a lot today," Postecoglou said.

    "The red card, it was a bit of overenthusiasm at that moment to give away a foul, but he'll learn from that. The same with Lucas. Giving him an understanding of the levels here.

    "It is not easy when you are playing away in Europe. You can only allow them to learn that by exposing them to it.

    "I thought Archie was great. It was a tough game for us defensively at different times, but I think we'll get so much growth out of him because he's not playing in his position.

    "I guess for three teenagers in the starting line-up, I think they'll learn a lot from it, and hopefully it helps with their development."

    At 19-years-old and 201 days, Lankshear is now Tottenham’s youngest goalscorer in major European competition since Harry Kane (18-years-old and 140 days) netted against Shamrock Rovers in the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League.

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    Despite the score-ine, Spurs were comfortably second-best against Galatasaray as they suffered their first defeat in the competition this season. 

    They faced 28 shots from their opponents, their most in a game under Postecoglou. 

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    "I just felt it was self-inflicted. We had real simple solutions out there to keep the ball. It wasn't that hard. We showed it with 10 men," Postecoglou added.

    "We just needed to be stronger on the ball and play the kind of football we play every week.

    "Maybe it was a little bit the changes I made and the environment and atmosphere, but the moments that stick out to me was giving the ball away.

    "We were playing through them quite easily with 10 men but with 11 men we had nowhere near that conviction and that was disappointing."

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