Hull City vs Sheffield Wednesday

 Ground Number 192 (55/92): KC Stadium

Hull City 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday

Friday 26th February 2016

NPower Championship

Attendance:

Admission: £21 (19-22)

The combination of unlimited free first-class rail travel and being a "full-time" student with far too much free time on their hands leads you into doing some very daft things. This was my 4th evening groundhop of the week - and it would have been a full Monday to Friday set had I bothered to venture off to the famous Long Eaton Town FC on Wednesday night. In a week of contrasts, that has taken me from Ilkeston and Kidderminster, to the lesser known name of Liverpool FC, the week undoubtedly climaxed with a huge underwhelming feeling on Friday night in Hull.

This on paper would appear to be a perfect opportunity if ever to go to a Hull game. At the summit of the Championship hosting a Yorkshire derby against a club who I have a real soft spot for because of their brilliant fanbase and plethora of original songs. They would provide the only compensation of a really disappointing evening. 

The KC stadium itself is really pleasant enough, if somewhat dull. I've seen pictures of their crumbling, wasting former home, Bootherry Park, and am regretful that the era of such relic stadia has just bypassed me. KC by contrast is a very comfortable stadium with good views and acoustics. It's built in a similar mould to Brighton's Amex; smaller single-tiered around 3 quarters of the ground, with the West Stand towering above the rest. It's not a spectacular or unique ground by any stretch but it is decent enough. One mitigating plus point it has above other stadiums of its ilk is that it's actually pretty central to the city; just a 15 minute direct walk as you exit the stadium. While the city centre is in the opposite direction, it's still compact enough for a solid away day.

Hull, widely mocked for being granted European City of Culture in 2017, did indeed appear to be a bleak, grey and scruffy Northern shithole from the surface. However, scratch between the surface and you will find numerous buildings with fine architecture and numerous decent, cosy ale pubs. I frequented the Hop & Vine, WM Hawkes and The Lion & Key. They were all excellent but I definitely saved the best until last; with roughly around 12 cask ales and an affordable traditional pub grub menu, which has earned the pub its number one restaurant ranking on TripAdvisor. Having devoured the Hull special fish and chips, I can confirm it is superb. The pub is in a beautiful old Edwardian building with splendid decor to match, and a packed out ceiling encased in beer cask mats. Lovely stuff.

Indeed, the excellent hostelries before the game would give the false illusion of greater things to follow, but the game that followed was quite simply one of the dullest I will have to witness in my attempt to conquer the 92. And as you already know, I'm an extremely tedious cunt who will have watched plenty of games this season. 

Don't get me wrong, the standard of play was far superior to most games I go to, but the two sides just cancelled each other and very rarely created any clear cut openings. Both sides did hit the woodwork; Wednesday's brilliant Fernando Forrestieri thundering a 30 yard drive against the bar in the first half was the game's only real plus point. Hull hit the frame in the second half from a Sam Clucas curling effort, but aside from that genuine chances were at a premium. Forrestieri earned himself a second yellow in the dying stages for a dive, which was a ridiculous decision as he was clear clipped and venturing into a dangerous position. That was one of several strange officiating decisions on the evening as the referee contributed to a disjointed game. 

Wednesday fans were in as fine voice as ever, while the home support was as disappointing as I expected. Several thousand vacant seats despite their champion elect position; the South Stand I bought my seat in must be the quietest home 'kop' in football. Only a small pocket of fans in the opposing end made a conceited effort to drown out Wednesday. 

For a club with an owner who want to change their name to Hull City Tigers they certainly displayed tinpot Americanized attributes, such as bright flashing scoreboard behind the goal with unavoidable flashing "COME ON YOU HULL" blaring from it throughout the game. 

I was so bored at times during the game I was actually hoping for the clock to tick down quicker and to retreat to the warmth of my cheap hotel, located just a few minutes walk down the road. It was a truly dull encounter and at never any point did I feel it would end anything but goalless. My record in Championship games is woeful this season; while Leeds' goalless draw last week was actually entertaining, I have only seen 4 goals scored in the 4 grounds I have visited, and 3 of those were scored by Wolves. Maybe I'm just unlucky with the games I pick to attend but it's not been befitting of it's "most entertaining league in the country" tag from my personal experience!