Joy? Hmm. Relief? Oh yes. But whatever your feelings about our first league win in ages, we gotta put them to one side here. Boro’ could’ve perhaps done with following up on our three points against Vale in midweek with another league outing to be honest. It’d give us a chance to try and build up some steam. Instead, we’re back in FA Cup action. And what we have here with this Round Two tie is yet another new face. Hello there, Hull City Tigers – or whatever you’re called these days.
The Details: Stevenage v Hull City
Where’s the game?
We get to enjoy the home comforts of the Lamex for the third game on the trot.
Can I watch Stevenage v Hull City?
You can – and not on iFollow as you have done with our league games so far! The Beeb will let you watch all the action unfold. You can watch on iPlayer or the BBC Sport website. It’s up to you. You can even choose not to watch it at all.
How are Boro’ shaping up…?
Our midweek win over Port Vale ended a long wait for a win. And, by that, we mean a win inside the regulation 90 minutes. As we’re in the second round of the cup, it clearly means that we won in the First Round. But we didn’t half make hard work of getting past Concord Rangers. That 2-1 win over the Valiants, however, is – for now – still the exception to this season’s rule. There’s a lot we need to do in order to build on it. Whether we’ll learn much from a match against higher opposition is yours to ponder.
… and how are they doing right now?
Like the Danish high street store, the Tigers are flying. After a grim slide from top flight to third tier in just three campaigns, the Humberside club are determined to bounce back. In winning 3-0 at promotion rivals Ipswich earlier this week, they sit pretty at the top of the League One table. Not only is their league form looking sharp, the Tigers made it into the third round of the EFL Cup and still have an interest in the Papa John’s Trophy.
Looking at that League One form in focus (with the help of soccerstats.com), they’ve won 75% of their away games; collecting 18 points from a possible 24 on the road. No League One defence has been able to stop them scoring either. In each of their last three outings (including cups), the Tigers have scored three times. You have to go back to 31 October for the last time they were kept to just the one goal. Our defence is in for a long afternoon.
Our story with Hull City so far
For the first time ever, Boro’ and Hull City now meet in a competitive fixture – or maybe any fixture. We reckon the closest we’ve ever come to meeting was when the Tigers finished five points above the relegation zone in the old Division Three back in 1999.
Last Time Out: No past meetings.
Who’s the referee in charge?
Just one month after we met Mr Allison for the first time, we get to enjoy the pleasure of his company once more. And our geeky mind can’t help but notice a bit of an odd theme here. In his first game in charge of Boro’, we welcomed Grimsby Town to the Lamex. Now, he’s back on the scene as we take on another team from the banks of the Humber. Is that deliberate? We’ll know more if he’s in charge when we play Scunthorpe United…
Since our goalless draw with the Mariners, Allison has overseen four more matches in four separate competitions. It takes his season total to 12 appointments, handing out 32 yellows and still to show a red. If he feels the need to send a Tigers’ man off, we won’t mind.
It’s a game for firsts, after all.
Last Meeting: Stevenage 0-0 Grimsby Town, 26 November 2020
Stevenage v Hull City: Our verdict?
Look, it’d be nice to think we have a chance here. But such is the whirlwind that Hull are whipping up, it’s the tallest of orders. We don’t doubt that we’ll give it a bash. But we also don’t think the Tigers will need to go through all of their gears: Stevenage 0-3 Hull City.