(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
A very big problem for Hull last season was scoring goals. From last Christmas to the end of the season, goals were a rare commodity for Hull fans and when they came they were cherished for the whole week, until they failed to score again. That is why fans were getting so frantic when striker after striker turned down the club in favour of more lucrative deals.
However Phil Brown may have made two genius signings in the form of the American Jozy Altidore and the Algerian born Kamel Ghilas. Hull fans, myself included, had watched our team being outplayed by a solid if inaccurate Bolton side. That is until Altidore got on the pitch.
Immediately the atmosphere was lifted. The anticipation of a new player, a debut performance, was combined with the excitement of seeing the answer to Hull's striking problem.
The impact was immediate within 24 seconds and with his second touch Altidore had set up the eager Ghilas with a deft flick for the Algerian to gleefully whip the ball past the keeper.
After this City never looked back. At least four chances were created by the re-energised attacking force, all involving the American. One came so agonisingly close that even on the replay I expected the ball to hit the back of the net.
Brazilian, Geovanni, often last season did not have the outlet to get creative with the ball. However with the two new strikers Geovanni cut up the defence with incisive passes that left a Bolton defence reeling.
In the end Hull was lucky. Bolton had a number of key chances which they failed to take. But at the end of the day the difference between to the two teams was Jozy Altidore.
On Tuesday, Altidore netted his first goal in the form of a low free-kick against League One outfit Southend. Here, he was mainly out of it for the better part of the game. But again when Geovanni and Ghilas were brought onto the field he sprang alive again.
Over the course of the season we may hear a few more USA chants echo around the KC stadium.
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