Hull drubbing takes pressure off Hughes

Manchester City 5 Hull 1

Manchester City produced a sensational performance to lift the pressure on under-fire manager Mark Hughes this afternoon.

Inspirational record signing Robinho and striker Felipe Caicedo both struck twice as Hughes’ men tore into stunned Hull with four first-half goals at Eastlands.

Hull salvaged some pride with a Craig Fagan consolation goal after embarrassed manager Phil Brown delivered his half-time talk on the pitch.

But the visitors remained distinctly second best and Stephen Ireland grabbed a fifth to lift his side out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.

It was the perfect tonic for Hughes after much speculation about his future.

His side showed their intent from the start with Caicedo creating a chance for Robinho in the opening minute but the former Real Madrid man shot over.

Fellow Brazilian Elano, back in the side after being dropped last week, also made an early impact with a powerful run but Ian Ashbee tackled on the edge of the area.

In a breathless opening, Marlon King then broke clear for Hull and took the ball past Richard Dunne but Joe Hart saved his low shot.

Hull veteran Dean Windass, making his first Premier League start of the season, then headed over from a King cross but was given offside anyway.

George Boateng had a shot blocked but that was about as good as it got for Hull as the hosts continued to create chances.

Ireland shot over and a goal looked inevitable long before it arrived after 15 minutes.

Caicedo, whose effort against West Brom last week was officially given as an own goal, was the man on target but it was Robinho who did most of the damage.

The £32m man cut in from the left and lobbed a delicate ball over the defence for Ireland, who in turn powered and squared for Caicedo to score.

Hull seemed unable to handle Robinho, who caused further problems with a tricky run at the exposed Bernard Mendy before forcing Boaz Myhill to save.

Hughes’ side doubled their advantage after 27 minutes as a poor header by Ashbee was pounced upon by Ireland.

The midfielder again raced into the area and pulled back for Caicedo to net almost a carbon copy of his opener.

The home side then grabbed their third just a minute later as Robinho broke forward, checked back inside Michael Turner and buried a low shot past Myhill.

After conceding four against Sunderland last weekend, alarm bells were ringing for Hull and Brown made an early change by bringing on defender Nathan Doyle for Boateng.

That allowed the struggling Mendy to move from right-back into midfield but the game already seemed lost.

Hull’s Geovanni, the third Brazilian to start, tried to drag his side back into contention against his former club but Hart was equal to his free-kick.

The hosts then broke immediately to score a fourth, Shaun Wright-Phillips bursting down the right to cross for Robinho to add his second.

They went searching for even more before the break as Wright-Phillips brought a good save out of Myhill.

Brown obviously decided there should be no hiding place for his players and ordered them to remain on the field after the half-time whistle.

He marched them down to the Hull supporters, asked them to sit and presumably delivered a few harsh words before finally allowing them to return to the dressing room.

They were also back on the pitch early with Fagan, fit to play for the first time since breaking his leg at Newcastle in September, replacing Windass.

As a result, Hull looked more composed but it was still the hosts who created the better chances with Wright-Phillips denied by a good tackle from Turner.

Geovanni left the field after 70 minutes to a good ovation from both sets of supporters but frustrated his return to Eastlands had been so difficult.

Daniel Cousin took his place but Hughes’ side retained the upper hand with Wright-Phillips narrowly off target with another effort.

Elano then beat Myhill with a long-range free-kick which took a huge deflection off Ashbee but the ball clipped the post.

Hull at least managed to salvage some pride with 11 minutes remaining when Fagan scrambled the ball home for a goal which will have given him some personal satisfaction.

But the visitors were still well beaten and Robinho rubbed salt into the wounds by jinking into the area for Ireland to blast home the fifth.