It’s never dull in Hull, as the saying goes in these parts, and after just three games the Premier League is proving to be quite some ride for Hull City supporters.
Having embarrassed Manchester United here on the opening day and won at Coventry last weekend, this deserved point and third successive clean sheet merely reinforced Sergej Jakirovic’s belief that his men can beat the drop.
You have to go back to Bolton’s excellent start in 2001-02 to find a promoted side who began the season with three straight victories. The Tigers failed to emulate Sam Allardyce’s team, but they came closest to a winner as the Algeria winger Mohamed Belloumi hit the crossbar with a stunning second-half shot before the substitute Mohamed-Ali Cho and Oli McBurnie threatened late on.
“We could have won, but they also had a few chances in the second half,” said Jakirovic, who signed a two-year contract extension on Friday. “We won’t be ungrateful for seven points after three games and another clean sheet. It’s a great result for us and we showed we can compete at this level.”
For Aston Villa, it was another largely impotent display which saw them fail to score for the third match running as the captain, John McGinn, and Emiliano Buendía spurned decent second-half opportunities.
Villa failed to manage a shot on target when being hammered 4-0 at Brighton and losing 1-0 at home to Arsenal; here they managed just one, a tame shot by George Hemmings early on.
Unai Emery chose to take the positives from Villa’s display as he patiently rebuilds the club after a summer of major upheaval which saw a number of key players leave and 10 new faces arrive.
“The result is not enough, but I think we deserved more,” he said. “We weren’t clinical but of course to win matches, you need goals. We created chances today to score and we must improve but we are rebuilding.”
Ambition pulsed loudly at a sold-out MKM Stadium before kick-off as a huge amber banner inscribed with the words “One family, one dream” was paraded on the pitch. It said much for the togetherness that Jakirovic has fashioned within his squad and the connection with the club’s supporters during a remarkable few months in the Tigers’ history.
Desire was visible and audible in the stands and on the pitch, but Villa almost led inside the second minute when Nicolas Jackson headed Ian Maatsen’s teasing left-wing cross wastefully wide.
Hull were unfazed and Belloumi beat Ross Barkley twice, including with a delightful nutmeg, before breaking clear down the right flank. His low cross was cleared, but it hinted at the possibilities on offer for the hosts.
In the 13th minute, Villa finally fashioned their only effort on target this season as Hemmings’s low shot was comfortably saved by Konstantinos Tzolakis.
If Villa could not see off a promoted side widely tipped for an immediate relegation this season, could they really consider themselves ready to start climbing the table? A neat passing sequence should have brought a Villa goal in the 50th minute but McGinn could only lift the ball harmlessly over Tzolakis’s crossbar from less than 12 yards out.
Three minutes later, Villa went even closer as Hemmings outstripped the Hull captain, Lewie Coyle, down the left flank and showed intelligence to pick out Buendía with a neat cut-back. Buendía should have buried the chance but he blazed wildly over, much to his disgust.
In the 65th minute, Hull went agonisingly close to scoring when Belloumi collected possession from a short corner and curled a stunning left-foot shot against the bar. There was a resilience to the hosts, and the collective desire that carried them to promotion last season will be needed over the next 35 games if they are to defy the odds and beat the drop.
