Three games, seven points, no goals conceded – City’s dream Premier League start continues

Pictures courtesy of Hull City

Hull City 0 - 0 Aston Villa

Premier League

MKM Stadium

Attendance: 24,425

By Sam Hawcroft, Hull City Correspondent

Three games into the Premier League season, Hull City remain undefeated. More than that, they are yet to concede a single goal.

Read that again!

Seven points from nine, three clean sheets and, at the final whistle on Saturday evening, the Tigers still sitting second in the Premier League table after a hard-earned 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.

Print it out. Frame it… it won’t always be like this, we know.

Yet there is increasingly little to suggest City’s remarkable start is some kind of fluke or flash in the pan. They are organised, resolute and extremely difficult to beat and, in front of a crowd of 24,425 at the MKM Stadium, they frustrated an Aston Villa side who are themselves still searching for a first league goal of the season.

It brought to an end an extraordinary week even by Hull City’s recent standards.

A frankly astonishing summer transfer window concluded with 18 new signings in total, six of them arriving on deadline day. Then came new contracts for six of last season’s promotion heroes before the cherry on top of the cake – a new two-year deal for head coach Sergej Jakirovic.

There were more pyrotechnics as the teams emerged at the MKM. They might always look a little more spectacular under the lights, but the message was clear enough: City are back in the Premier League and intend to make the most of it.

Villa offered an early reminder of the quality they possess when Ian Maatsen lofted a ball in from the left in the third minute and Nicolas Jackson’s header looped only a yard or so wide.

City responded almost immediately. Ryan Giles came desperately close to finding Oli McBurnie with a square ball across the six-yard area, but the striker was crowded out and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki was able to smother.

Moments later Elliot Stroud did superbly to release Giles down the left, although his eventual cross went straight into Suzuki’s hands.

Villa began to turn the screw around the quarter-hour mark and already looked a more sustained attacking threat than Manchester United had managed to produce here a fortnight earlier.

The Tigers’ defence was equal to it. Mohamed Belloumi did particularly well when John McGinn threatened down the right, forcing the Villa captain towards the byline and ultimately winning a goal kick.

In the 19th minute came one of those moments football crowds simply cannot resist. Nobel Mendy collected possession around 25 yards out and was immediately greeted by a chorus of “shoooooot”.

So he did… high and wide, but nobody could accuse him of ignoring instructions.

Villa went much closer in the 25th minute when Ross Barkley tried his luck from the edge of the area. His effort took a slight deflection off John Egan and flew narrowly wide.

For a spell City were beginning to look a little under the cosh, although Villa kindly provided some breathing space when Tyrone Mings took aim from distance and deposited the ball somewhere towards near-Earth orbit.

City won their first corner shortly after the half-hour, although Stroud was penalised for a foul on Suzuki.

Then came a much more serious warning at the other end. Regan Slater unleashed a powerful effort from distance which flew over the bar, but not by much. Had it dipped another couple of feet, the roof might genuinely have come off.

The momentum had started to swing City’s way again.

In the 37th minute Belloumi tried a low effort which Suzuki had to gather carefully with Slater advancing into the six-yard area, then the midfielder had another go after some excellent work from Giles, who somehow retained possession despite being challenged three times.

This time Slater could not get enough power behind the shot and Suzuki gathered comfortably.

Semi Ajayi went into the book in the 39th minute for bringing down Jackson around 25 yards from goal. It was certainly a foul, even if the yellow card looked a little harsh.

Emiliano Buendía stood over the resulting free-kick, shaped to shoot and sent it sailing well over the crossbar, much to the delight of the supporters behind the goal.

City forced another corner as the interval approached but it came to nothing and, right on the stroke of half-time, they survived their biggest scare of the half.

Jackson looked almost certain to score as the ball arrived in the six-yard area but, with seemingly only a touch required, he became tangled with Mendy and ended up on the turf instead. There was no foul and Mendy had done just enough to make life difficult for him.

It remained goalless at the break.

McBurnie created City’s first opening of the second half himself, winning possession around halfway before exchanging passes with Stroud and advancing towards goal. He perhaps had more time than he realised before shooting from around 25 yards and sending it well over.

There was then a let-off at the opposite end when Konstantinos Tzolakis came from his goal and appeared momentarily stranded as McGinn lifted the ball over him, but City somehow escaped.

Seconds later the Tigers were attacking again. Lucas Gourna-Douath released Stroud, who drove into the area and struck the left-hand side-netting.

That summed up much of the contest. The Tigers were not sitting back and accepting a point, but Villa carried just a shade more threat.

They really should have made that count when Suzuki released George Hemmings, who found Buendía in an excellent position inside the area.

The finish did not match the build-up, though, the Villa man toe-poking over when it looked considerably easier to hit the target.

By now the visitors could reasonably wonder how they had nothing to show for their pressure.

As the hour approached, Hemmings raced down the left again and Egan produced a magnificent sliding challenge to stop him in his tracks. Perfectly timed, perfectly executed – take a bow, son!

There was another nervous moment when Mendy appeared to give Matty Cash the slightest of nudges inside the penalty area. The appeals came immediately and these have certainly been given after intervention from VAR, but nothing was doing this time.

This was now very much Villa’s spell, the sustained second-half pressure being rather more like the assault many had expected from Manchester United on the opening day but which never materialised.

City were living just a little dangerously. Could they do it for another half an hour?

Jakirovic decided fresh legs were required and turned to two of his deadline-day recruits. Sorba Thomas replaced Stroud in the 63rd minute before Brooke Norton-Cuffy came on for Lewie Coyle.

The response was almost immediate as City attacked with renewed purpose and forced a corner.

City worked it short, Belloumi exchanging passes with Slater before getting the ball back on the right.

Was it a cross? Was it a shot? Whichever, it sailed beyond Suzuki and crashed against the underside of the crossbar.

Gourna-Douath went into the book shortly afterwards for a tactical foul as Villa attempted to break, but still the visitors could find no route through.

Mendy, who was losing a grip on his discipline a little, made way for Lucas Herrington with around 20 minutes remaining. City had defended magnificently, but there felt like an awfully long time left if they could not find a goal of their own.

They threatened again from a free-kick on the left, McBurnie getting his head to the delivery only for Suzuki to pounce on it at the far post.

Villa made attacking changes of their own as Unai Emery sought the breakthrough. The manager was becoming an increasingly animated figure in the opposite technical area and his frustration boiled over as Tammy Abraham and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were not getting themselves ready quickly enough to enter the fray – an episode that did not go unnoticed by the Tigers support.

With fewer than ten minutes remaining, Jakirovic made another double change. Jens Hjertø-Dahl replaced Gourna-Douath and Mohamed-Ali Cho came on for Belloumi.

There was still defending to do. McGinn lined up a free kick from around 20 yards in the 88th minute but Tzolakis dealt with it comfortably.

Then, as the clock ticked towards 90, City suddenly looked like the team most likely to nick it.

Cho produced a powerful effort from around 12 yards which forced Suzuki into a save, the Villa goalkeeper doing well to hold on with McBurnie waiting for any rebound.

Moments later Giles, whipped a superb ball across the face of goal.

It travelled in front of everyone. McBurnie stretched but just could not get there and his frustration was obvious. One touch and, surely, City had won it.

Three minutes of added time were announced and there was no thought of retreating to protect what they had. The Tigers went for it, pushing forward in search of the goal that would have made it three victories from three.

It didn’t arrive, but when the whistle finally went, there was plenty to admire about the point City had earned.

Villa had enjoyed the better of significant periods and fashioned enough opportunities to feel they should have scored. Yet the Tigers survived those spells, defended with enormous determination and still came within the width of the crossbar – and then McBurnie’s outstretched boot – of taking all three points themselves.

Let’s say it again. Three games, seven points, no goals conceded.

We know that nobody at Hull City will be getting carried away after three games of a 38-match Premier League season… but go on. Have another look at that league table anyway.