Pressured Hull City boss rankles at Sheffield Wednesday decision and makes bold claim
Under-fire Hull City boss Tim Walter expressed his dissatisfaction at a decision that delivered Sheffield Wednesday a first penalty in 558 days - on an evening that saw home fans campaign for his sacking.
The Tigers manager watched on as Wednesday recorded a 2-0 win that meant they became the only side to have won more than once at the MKM Stadium this season - a quirk in statistics that will surely act as one of many headaches for the struggling German coach.
With 2.30 xG, the data suggests the Owls recorded a far greater quality of chances than Hull’s 1.00 on a night the away side registered 16 shots on goal to the Tigers’ nine and 28 touches in the penalty area to the home side’s 15. Despite those numbers, Walter believes his team had the better of the chances.
“After 10 minutes we got into the game and we had the biggest chances in the game,” he said. “We hit the post, Regan (Slater) hit the goalkeeper or we shot it outside the goal. And then it is human because it makes something with you. We knew this situation from the games before, the heads went down.
“We got into the game but after the penalty went against us and that was the situation we couldn’t handle this evening. We tried to change to get the control back but then we lost the depths, they (Wednesday) dropped back and then it is hard to play against a team laid back. You have to create again and be more precise, it was like it is at the moment... they got the counter and we lost this game.”
After a flurry of early chances came and went for the Owls without a break in score line, Shea Charles was bundled over from behind by Tigers forward Joao Pedro. Referee Oliver Langford became the first official to point to the spot in Wednesday’s favour since David Webb did so in the historic 5-1 play-off comeback win against Peterborough United in May 2023.
There were few complaints on the field, but Walter saw the decision differently. “It’s no penalty,” he said. “It is like it is, it is the same story like every time.”
The win pushes Wednesday into 12th place in the Championship table, though fixtures will be played this evening (Wednesday 27). Hull’s struggles continue and without a win in nine matches, they sit 22nd in the division.