Matchday Memories: On This Day 1995 – Sky Blues Empty The Tigers’ Tank In Hull
On this day (4th October) in 1995 the Sky Blues ‘gaffer’ ‘Big Ron Atkinson’ was experiencing a difficult start to the club’s Premiership season with only one win in the first eight league games, and last time out City had lost 3-0 at home to the ‘auld enemy’ Aston Villa. The only bright light so far was the Sky Blues results in the League Cup where they had started their campaign in the two legged Second Round with a 2-0 win at Highfield Road against Hull City a fortnight previously. The City scorers then had been experience midfielder Kevin Richardson and a young Ghanaian talent, and quite recent CCFPA recruit, Nii Lamptey. In truth, City should have done even better with the Tigers eventually going down to ten men after Kevin Dewhurst was sent off for apparently ‘standing on Nii’s head’!
Nii had been brought in from Belgian club Anderlecht by Big Ron this season and was hoping to build a reputation in top flight UK football. He did his reputation more good in this evening’s second leg game at Boothferry Park by scoring the only goal of the game against a poor Hull City side after just ten minutes to give the Sky Blues the win on the night and take the tie 3-0 on aggregate. Nii’s goal was stunning as he confidently beat two defenders before sending an unstoppable drive past the Tigers’ ‘keeper Steve Wilson. Inexperience however showed as poor positioning led him to be caught offside too often – and generally, just as in the first leg, the Tigers should have received greater punishment from the Sky Blues.
Former City youngster Greg Abbott was in the Tigers’ side that night.
