HULL CITY 2 CITY 1
Friendly
6th August 1985
Attendance 3,144
Scorers
City Phillips(27)
Hull Askew(3), Bunn(5)
City Williams, May, Power, Clements, Johnson, Phillips, Kinsey, McIlroy, McNab, Melrose, Simpson – used subs Nixon, Wilson, Beckford, Tolmie
FROM THE PRESS BOX
PETER GARDNER WRITING IN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS 7TH AUGUST 1985
Two Hull goals in the first five minutes put the skids under Manchester City at Boothferry Park.
And the Blues’ night of Humberside misery was completed when key striker Jim Melrose was carried off shortly into the second half.
City finished with a final flourish in which they played some splendid football, but lacked a killer touch in front of goal.
It would have been the ideal game for £132,000 newcomer Mark Lillis. Unfortunately, the beefy front runner dropped out at the last minute with a leg knock received in training.
City played intelligently on the flanks, only to find the supply of excellent crossed balls failing to reach a suitable target man, with both Melrose and Steve Kinsey lacking the height Lillis possesses.
The damage had been done earlier when Hull were allowed their freedom to strike the blows that gave them their 2-1 victory.
A touch of the defensive dithers saw Billy Askew cheekily chip in from 35 yards after Alex Williams had attempted to head clear outside his penalty area.
Two minutes later, Gareth Roberts cut in from the left and Frankie Bunn rounded Kenny Clements to slam in the second.
When City finally started to get their game together, David Phillips, last season’s long range hot-shot revealed he still has his shooting boots intact when he hit a crisp left-footer to reduce the margin.
With Sammy McIlroy working hard in midfield, and Kinsey and Paul Simpson lively on the wings, City piled on the pressure only to find Hull, promoted from the Third Division, in stubborn mood at the back.