Hull City in Europa League | Aston Villa match reportAm I dreaming? Hull City are in Europe! It was a day to forget on the pitch for Hull City, but the talk quickly turned to qualification for the Europa League. Sorry Liverpool fans, but Manchester City's victory over Everton was just what the Tigers ordered to confirm a place in Europe next season as FA Cup finalists, because Arsenal are now guaranteed Champions League football. The prospect of travelling across Europe supporting your football team is one that I'm sure will excite City fans. Winning the cup would mean us going straight into the group stage, graced last season by the likes of Lazio, Valencia, PSV and Fiorentina; losing would see us start in the third qualifying round in July, which would no doubt give Steve Bruce a headache over his pre-season plans. But what a problem to have! The KC Stadium could be playing host to some famous clubs from the continent next season, just a decade after the likes of Kidderminster and Darlington were regular visitors. It may not sink in until fans are on a midweek trip to Moldova, but it is another remarkable achievement for Bruce, who has worked wonders with a squad that many expected to struggle. If Norwich fail to beat Chelsea today, we can finally relax and enjoy the climax to what is turning out to be City's best ever season. Defence unusually poor against Aston Villa To the Villa game, then. For a City side that has prided itself on its defensive resolve so much this season, the first half just wasn't good enough. Curtis Davies was particularly off-colour, and it's not often any of us have had to say that about him this season. Davies, for whatever reason, simply wasn't his calm, assured self and he played with an anxiety we've not really witnessed since he joined the club. In fairness, you can count the number of poor games he's had this season on one hand, maybe even one finger. He will know more than anyone that he wasn't up to his own incredibly high standards on Saturday, and he'll no doubt be looking to put that right against Man United on Tuesday. Davies has been the calm head that his fellow defenders have looked towards all year, so it's perhaps no surprise that when he falls short, so do the rest. From a City point of view, all three Villa goals were fairly avoidable. The first reminded me a bit of Sheffield United's second at Wembley. The ease with which Gabby Agbonlahor evaded a couple of challenges and then crossed the ball into Ashley Westwood in the centre wasn't too dissimilar to Stefan Scougall's effort for the Blades last month. You could put it down to a lack of concentration, considering it was only 50 seconds into the game. But from there on in, City were always going to be facing an uphill battle. To be fair to Bruce's men, they recovered enough to gain a bit of a foothold in the game. They started knocking the ball about in the manner that supporters know they can and, when the equaliser came, it wasn't against the run of play. So, when Villa scored their second goal of the game to regain the lead shortly before half-time, it was a kick in the teeth. This goal, like the first, was soft. At least twice, City had a chance to clear their lines, but they never got the ball out of the danger zone. Jelavic did well to keep out Baker's initial header, but should have done much more with the ball when it rebounded back to him off the bar. Fair enough, he had little time to react, but in football, speed of thought is essential. Conceding just before half-time is always a blow, and when Andi Weimann grabbed his second goal just before the break it was doubly hard to take. Of the three goals, this was the one that could be put down more to attacking brilliance than defensive incompetence. It was a fine cross in from Jordan Bowery and an excellent glancing header from Weimann, although, at 5ft 10in, some may question whether he should have been out-jumping Davies and Alex Bruce. It was a bad day all round for City defensively, and I'm sure players and fans alike will be happy to erase it from the memory.James Chester injury a huge blowJames Chester left the pitch injured during the first half yesterday and the early prognosis doesn't look promising. Not only will he miss out on playing at the home of his boyhood team, Manchester United, on Tuesday night, he is now also a major doubt for the FA Cup final. It would be incredibly harsh on Chester if he were to miss out as he has adapted to life in the Premier League seamlessly. Alex Bruce is likely to step in and, while he's an adequate replacement, he's not in the same league as Chester, who will be sorely missed. Sone Aluko, meanwhile, seems to spend more time in the treatment room than he does on the football pitch and his fragility is becoming a bit of a concern. After a fine cameo against Fulham last week, Bruce hinted he would start with Aluko yesterday, only for the forward to injure his ankle in training. It's a shame that such a promising season looks to be petering out, as his return from injury a couple of months ago was met with genuine excitement from City fans. Let's hope for the sake of Aluko and City he recovers in time for the cup final. Who knows, he may just be saving that one moment of magic for Wembley.
• Brad Rial is a journalism student at Hull College and a life-long Hull City fan who writes every week for the Mail. Follow him on Twitter @BradRial.
