Hull City came from behind to produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Championship. According to reports, the former Olympiacos manager will work under a long-term deal to replace Shota Arveladze, who was fired by owner Acun Ilicali last Friday. After Will Keane gave Wigan, who had won their previous four away games, the lead after 14 minutes, Martins must have been a little uneasy about the task at hand. However, the home team was superior in the first half, and Dimitrios Pelkas’ equalizing goal came seven minutes later.
Wigan had a chance to go to the playoffs with a win, but after 65 minutes Oscar Estupinan emphatically headed Callum Elder’s corner into the net, leaving East Yorkshire with nothing. Martins would have loved what he saw as well because Hull appeared vivacious and capable early on. That changed when Keane scored a goal against his previous employers.
Although Thelo Aasgaard received an excessive room on the right, his low cross into the penalty area was excellent. Keane continued to move by Jacob Greaves with great awareness as he made his way home. The first goal by Wigan may have caused Hull, who have by far the league’s weakest defense, to lose confidence. Instead, they fought back valiantly under temporary head coach Andy Dawson, presumably motivated by the presence of Martins. Dogukan Sinik stood out as particularly impressive and pushed Cyrus Christie to perform better after he botched a nice cross-field delivery while in a good position.
In fact, Keane was denied a second goal after 51 minutes when Nathan Baxter instinctively parried his opportunistic shot from Max Power’s cross to safety. But just as the Latics appeared to be making a comeback, Estupinan outmuscled center-back Jack Whatmough with a brilliant set-piece header. After that, chances were scarce, but Wigan boss Leam Richardson shouldn’t be upset. Martins will have a lot to think about before he arrives at the MKM Stadium.
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