Plenty of action at St James' Park as Hull City took on bottom of the table Newcastle United. Brad Rial was there to see City give up a two goal lead to leave with just a point.Jelavic's persistence pays off
Nikica Jelavic is nothing if not persistent. Against West Ham last Monday, the ball was crossed into the striker and he attempted an audacious bicycle kick when he looked to have enough time to control the ball before having a shot. The end result was a tangled mess of Croatian limbs lying on the KC turf.
When Jelavic was presented with a similar opportunity against Newcastle yesterday, the outcome was somewhat different. He caught the ball perfectly in mid-air and it was a truly stunning goal. Nine times out of ten, such outlandish efforts would end in spectacular failure. But when it comes off, it is sure worth waiting for, as yesterday proved.
That was Jelavic's third goal in five league games this season; only Diego Costa has scored more. Of course, he can frustrate at times – he wouldn't be at Hull City if there were no flaws to his game – but he is guaranteed goals at this level. He is capable of notching another 10-12 between now and the end of the season and that would represent an impressive return.
What Jelavic lacks in subtlety, he more than makes up for in sheer determination. He will always back his own ability and that is a quality you have to admire. The old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again," couldn't ring truer for City's number 18.Diame – first name on the teamsheet right now?
Mohamed Diame picked up from where he left off against West Ham on Monday with another commanding display yesterday. He even managed to trump Jelavic in the goals department. His strike in the 68th minute was outstanding and the way that he dispatched it was almost matter of fact.
It was as if he just decided there and then that he fancied scoring a goal, and it was an impressive feat to generate so much power – with his weaker left foot, remember – with so little backlift. It was effortless.
His goal aside, Diame put in another all-action display. What he does very well is press the opposition high up the pitch and on more than one occasion yesterday he forced the Newcastle backline into mistakes. It was his perseverance that brought about Jelavic's opener.
Any player will tell you that one of the most important factors in football is confidence. Diame is playing with bags of the stuff right now and City are reaping the rewards. There were times yesterday when he was a little too confident and overplayed when it wasn't necessary.
But when on his game Diame can run a match single-handedly and, despite only making his debut less than a week ago, he is probably Steve Bruce's first name on the teamsheet at present.Dawson an understated presence at the back
Since an uncomfortable debut at Aston Villa three weeks ago, Michael Dawson has barely put a foot wrong in a City shirt. Steve Bruce knew exactly what he was getting when he paid Spurs £3.5m for the 30-year-old last month: a sturdy, solid and reliable defender. And that's what he has proven to be in the past week.
Dawson met every aerial challenge that was thrown his way yesterday with minimal fuss and – for three quarters of the game at least – was rarely troubled by Newcastle's strikeforce.
His distribution from the back is also underrated. While he may not possess the cultured right boot of a Tom Huddlestone, Dawson is surprisingly comfortable with the ball at his feet and his passes invariably found a teammate yesterday.
Dawson's run in the team has come at the expense of the unfortunate James Chester, who seems to have done little wrong. As is Bruce's tendency to mix things up, though, it may not be long before Chester finds himself back in the starting XI.
A reversion to the 3-5-2 would not only accommodate Chester, Dawson and Davies but would also mask the defensive deficiencies of Ahmed Elmohamady, who would be free to move back to his preferred wingback role. Errors prove costly. Did Bruce get his subs right?
From a City perspective, both of Newcastle's goals yesterday were poor ones to concede. Steve Bruce said post-match that individual errors cost his side the three points and it's difficult to disagree.
For the Magpies' first, Stephen Quinn was guilty of attempting an elaborate flick on halfway that gifted possession back to the home side. With just fifteen minutes left, all it required was for Quinn to play a simple pass and retain possession.
But he was punished and no-one looked as distraught as the Irishman when Papiss Cisse beat Allan McGregor at his near post. He knew he'd messed up.
For the equaliser, it was Andrew Robertson who lost his man. He allowed Yoan Gouffran far too much room to place a header back across the six-yard box and it was one of the rare occasions since joining the club that Robertson's inexperience has showed.
Liam Rosenior replaced him in stoppage time, but many City fans were calling for the fullback to be introduced earlier in the second half. Elmohamady was struggling defensively down City's right and the experienced head of Rosenior would have steadied the ship.
Some supporters up in the top tier at St James' also questioned Bruce's decision to withdraw Nikica Jelavic with nine minutes remaining, leaving Sone Aluko (who looked sharp when he came on) as City's out and out striker.
Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing and supporters wouldn't have been complaining had City pinched a last-minute winner. But there was a sense that Newcastle were there for the taking and that this was very much the case of two points dropped.
