Hull City manager Steve Bruce is worried the early rounds of the Capital One Cup are becoming akin to a series of glorified friendlies. The Tigers were 1-0 winners over Huddersfield Town in Tuesday night's third-round clash at the KC Stadium, but it was an occasion that left Bruce uninspired.
Played out in front of fewer then 8,000 fans, the game made little or no impact as a spectacle as both sides left their first-choice players on the sidelines. Bruce made nine changes from the side that defeated Newcastle at the weekend, while Huddersfield changed all 10 of their outfield players.
"It was a comfortable evening for us but it was, if I'm being honest, like watching paint dry," said Bruce. "It was more like a friendly than a cup tie, but that's what the early rounds of the cup have turned into now; it's a shame but there you have it.
"There was no real cohesion to us, it was both managers throwing 11 bodies on the pitch really. Once you lose that cohesion there was no real tempo to it because of what it was."
The cup tie at least allowed Bruce to turn to some of his fringe players, with defenders Abdoulaye Faye and Alex Bruce - both in contention to start against West Ham on Saturday - and new boys Gedo and Conor Henderson all given run-outs.
"The good things were that Gedo got a run-out and Stephen Quinn got another hour under his belt after being out for a long time," he said. "Abdoulaye Faye and Alex (Bruce) needed a game and Steve Harper did fine in goal. We were a bit unbalanced but it was a question of giving everyone a game."
Terriers boss Mark Robins also defended leaving out his key players."I wanted to go through, but needs must. It (rotation) is no disrespect to the cup - it's a necessity. Our priority is staying in the Championship. I wanted to win and we might have won if we'd been at our best. But history tells me that this team was the right way to go."
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