Gastón Ramírez harbours unhappy memories of Hull and will doubtless have enjoyed taking his frustrations out on Mike Phelan’s spirited but under-powered team. Dispatched to Humberside on loan by Southampton two years ago, the Uruguayan struggled with injuries and poor form, and it took a transfer to Teesside to help restore him to former glories.
And Ramírez, once again emphasising his importance to Aitor Karanka’s gameplan, headed in a winner to lift Middlesbrough four points clear of the relegation zone and towards mid-table security.
It left an unambitious Hull, who restricted a dominant Boro to few clear-cut chances but created next to none of their own, second from bottom and heading into a bitter night with their future as unclear as the fog-shrouded roads leading south to Humberside. “We controlled the game,” said Karanka, for whom it was only a third victory of the season. “It was a really good win, beating Hull was massive. They’re really well organised but we showed we were better than them.”
Phelan did not entirely disagree. “We were under severe pressure but I thought we defended well,” the Hull manager said. “With better decision-making we could possibly have got a point.”
As the mist began rolling in from the Tees, a cagey opening filled with backwards and sideways passes was briefly enlivened when Álvaro Negredo met Marten de Roon’s lay-off. Twelve yards out, the striker was slackly marked but, perhaps unwisely, he elected to shoot with the outside of his left foot when he seemed to have time to shift it on to the right. Unsurprisingly, the shot arced high over the bar.
David Marshall, Hull’s keeper, has one of Víctor Valdés’s old Barcelona jerseys hidden away in his garage. It is a souvenir from the night in 2004 the then youthful Celtic keeper was part of the team who won a Uefa Cup match against Barça, and he seemed minded to perform a few more heroics here. Having reacted well to save Ramírez’s low 25-yard shot and then divert a similar effort from Adam Forshaw, he initially proved adept at it.
Boro’s improvement in recent weeks has been largely attributable to Karanka’s installation of his other Barcelona old boy, Adama Traoré, wide on the right, and the winger’s demotion to the bench raised eyebrows. His place was taken by Viktor Fischer, who thought he had scored after turning the ball home following Ramírez’s cross and Negredo’s headed flick only to see the effort rightly disallowed for a combination of offside and handball.
No matter; Karanka’s players were very much in control. They appeared almost affronted when Hull finally escaped their half and looked unprepared for Adama Diomandé’s acceleration on to Markus Henriksen’s pass. Then, just as Diomandé, shaped to shoot, Ben Gibson slid in to retrieve the situation with a perfectly timed, brilliantly executed tackle. “Ben Gibson, he’s one of our own,” chorused the Teesside crowd as Steve Gibson, the club’s owner and the centre-half’s uncle, looked on approvingly.
Behind the smiles, Gibson Sr might have been a little concerned by Boro’s failure to translate superiority into goals, the moment when Fischer’s inviting delivery struck a startled Negredo on the side of the head seeming symbolic of their attacking travails. Significantly, that was a rare cross from a home player and maybe a few more would not have gone amiss.
Possibly this dearth of centres was down to Ramírez being used as much more of a playmaking No10 than a winger. It also had something to do with Fischer’s struggles to get beyond Ahmed Elmohamady but philosophy comes into it too; Karanka wants to play in a more between-the-lines way.
On Monday, though, Hull’s five-man midfield made fluency difficult in the freezing air, though the game finally defrosted 15 minutes into a second half full of home dominance when a set piece rescued Boro. Fischer’s corner found Ramírez totally unmarked at the far post and his glancing header defied Marshall. Industry personified, the Uruguayan deserved his moment.
Phelan’s side immediately became more expansive after Ryan Mason and Jake Livermore were withdrawn and Tom Huddlestone and the young Jarrod Bowen were introduced. And after Ramírez hobbled off with a minor injury, Hull suddenly prompted panic for Boro.
Their new-found sense of adventure resulted in Valdés saving brilliantly from Diomandé in stoppage time. Connecting with Robert Snodgrass’s ensuing corner, the lone striker then poked the ball narrowly wide. Next Valdés directed a clearance straight at Snodgrass but he could not quite take advantage. “We don’t have great resources,” Phelan said. “We know it’s going to be difficult – but this will not kill our sense of belief.”
