Hull City boss Steve Bruce was a mightily relieved man as his side progressed through to the second round of the Capital One Cup, surviving a penalty shootout to defeat heroic Accrington Stanley. After speaking to the official Hull City website, Bruce believes his side took their time to settle into the game and almost paid the heavy price.
The former Sunderland, Wigan and Sheffield United boss was quick to heap praise on opponents Accrington, who certainly outplayed their tag as being one of the favourites for relegation from League Two this season. A strong team was named, including the likes of former England international Tom Huddlestone, talented defender Curtis Davies and hardworking striker Nikica Jelavić, but it was others who Bruce signalled out for praise, including penalty hero Greg Luer,
“I’m delighted for Greg (Luer), too. It just shows how football can work sometimes. We took him from Burgess Hill Town last year and he nearly missed this game after getting a bad cut above his eye on Monday.”
Making his debut at right back was Moses Odubajo, a summer signing from Brentford and Bruce was more than happy with his impact on the night,
“I was delighted with his debut. Moses is going to be a good player for us. He’s young, enthusiastic, quick and looks a very, very good player”.
Despite Bruce saying his team played the game as if it was a pre-season friendly, looking very lackadaisical and lacking tempo, like any cup game it is all about the end result. Credit must go to Accrington as they showed real energy and spirit to take the game all the way, against a side that played Premier League football only a few months ago.
