POMPEY v HULL

FORM

4-0

v AFC Wimbledon (H)

1-0

v Fleetwood (A)

1-5

v Peterborough (A)

1-2

v Bristol City (A)

2-0

v Hull (A)

MacGillivray

Johnson Whatmough Raggett Brown

Harness Naylor Cannon

Williams

Marquis Jacobs

Lewis-Potter Wilks Whyte

Honeyman Docherty Smallwood

Elder Greaves Jones Coyle

3-0

v Accrington (H)

FORM

1-1

v Blackpool (H)

Long

3-2

v Fleetwood (H)

1-1

v Sunderland (A)

2-0

v Charlton (H)

It was only five weeks ago that Pompey won 2-0 at Hull to leapfrog their opponents to the summit and claim the third tier’s Christmas number one.

And Kenny Jackett’s side could snatch top spot from the Tigers again if they are able to collect a maximum haul at Fratton Park this afternoon.

This time, however, there is a third party in play, with secondplaced Lincoln also required to drop points from their home clash with Northampton.

Today sees the start of a vital run of games for the Blues against fellow promotion hopefuls, with the Imps heading to the south coast on Tuesday evening, which precedes a trip to Charlton next weekend.

But Pompey can take confidence from seeing off Peterborough, Ipswich and Hull – and claiming four points from a couple of meetings with Fleetwood – in recent weeks.

That clash at the KCOM Stadium just before Christmas saw Jacob Greaves and Josh Magennis both turn the ball into their own net.

And there was not too much festive cheer on display for the hosts at the time, with the result stretching their winless league record to four games.

If their New Year’s resolution was to get back on track, though, then it has certainly paid off during an unbeaten start to 2021.

Draws with Sunderland and Blackpool – the latter of which saw Hull play the closing stages with 10 men – were bookended by victories over Charlton and Accrington.

They beat Stanley 3-0 on home soil earlier in the week, courtesy of goals from Mallik Wilks, Gavin Whyte and, from the penalty spot, Magennis.

January has also seen them progress to the quarter-finals of the Papa John’s Trophy – although they did it the hard way.

Grant McCann’s men were trailing by two goals against Fleetwood with just 12 minutes remaining, only to end up triumphing 3-2.

While not quite as good as Pompey’s record, City – who were relegated last season – have performed well on their league travels so far this term, collecting six victories.

They have enjoyed success at Gillingham (2-0), Northampton (2-0), Rochdale (3-0), Bristol Rovers (3-1), MK Dons (3-1) and Ipswich (3-0).

The last of those came towards the end of November, however, with the Tigers not winning any of their past three fixtures on the road.

You have to go back to March 2012 to find the last time the sides met at Fratton Park, with Chris Maguire and Joel Ward on target to ensure the hosts came out on top in a Championship contest.

And a similar outcome would certainly be welcomed by the Blues this afternoon, as the League One promotion race begins to heat up.

HEAD COACH Grant McCann

The Belfast-born former Northern Ireland international was capped 39 times by his country and began his club playing career with West Ham. He made a handful of appearances before the Londoners before moving on to find more regular action with Cheltenham, Barnsley, Scunthorpe and Peterborough. Hanging up his boots following a short spell at Linfield, McCann returned to Posh in a coaching capacity and was appointed manager in May 2016. He then spent a season in charge of Doncaster and guided them to the League One playoffs before arriving at Hull in the Josh Magennis got there first to inadvertently summer of 2019. The Tigers finished bottom of the Championship last term and suffered an 8-0 defeat at Wigan, but McCann kept his job and now has them challenging for promotion. Age: 40

Hull games managed/won:

82/31

HEAD TO HEAD Overall

Pompey: 22 wins Hull: 13 wins 20 draws

At Fratton Park

Pompey: 12 wins Hull: 4 wins 11 draws

LAST MEETING

Hull 0

Pompey 2

Greaves 6 (og), Magennis 55 (og)

League One December 18 2020

Pompey climbed to the top of the League One table with a hard-fought – and deserved – victory over previous leaders Hull at the KCOM Stadium.

The hosts were certainly feeling in a generous mood just before Christmas, giving their opponents a helping hand with each of the two goals.

Sean Raggett tried to attack a Cam Pring corner and as Jacob Greaves stooped to try to clear, he ended up diverting the ball into his own net.

on by Rasmus Nicolaisen towards John Marquis, Then, when a Ronan Curtis free-kick was nodded

turn it home.

Pompey: MacGillivray; Johnson, Raggett, Nicolaisen, Pring; Naylor (c), Cannon; Harness (Jacobs 88), Williams (Close 87), Curtis; Marquis

HOMEGROWN HEROES

FOOTBALL HISTORIAN LEIGH EDWARDS PROFILES FIVE PLAYERS WHO PROGRESSED THROUGH THE HULL RANKS

ANDY DAVIDSON

Long-serving right-back Davidson holds Hull’s appearance record. Turning professional at Boothferry Park in September 1949, ‘Jock’ made his debut in the club’s 2-0 defeat at Blackburn three years later and was an influential figure as they won third tier promotion in 1958/59. He became captain and missed just one match as the Tigers secured the Division Three title and took Chelsea to an FA Cup sixth round replay in 1965/66. Ever-present seven times, Davidson netted 19 goals in 579 appearances before joining the coaching staff, then was chief scout and had a mobile fish round. He died in Beverley in April 2014.

CHRIS CHILTON Long-serving striker Chilton holds the Tigers’ all-time scoring record. Signing professional terms with the club in July 1960, he made his debut at Colchester a month later and quickly impressed with his aerial strength. He was leading marksman as Hull secured the Division Three crown and reached the last eight of the FA Cup in 1965/66, also starring in their 1970/71 cup run. Netting 222 goals in 477 outings, Chilton moved to Coventry for £92,000 in the summer of 1971, but injury soon ended his playing career. He later coached back at Boothferry Park, then was a painter and decorator, settling in Thorngumbald.

BRIAN MARWOOD Fast, tricky winger Marwood was leading marksman in Hull’s 1982/83 Division Four promotion success. Turning professional in February 1978, he was also top scorer as the Tigers reached the Associate Members’ Cup final in 1984, hitting 51 goals in 158 league games before being sold to Sheffield Wednesday for £115,000 in August 1984. Marwood was an FA Cup semifinalist in 1985/86 and joined Arsenal in March 1988, featuring prominently in as they became champions of England in 1988/89. Later appearing for Sheffield United, Swindon and Barnet, he had a spell as PFA chairman and has since worked in the media.

PETER SKIPPER Central defender Skipper was an ever-present for the Tigers in three successive seasons. Born locally, he turned professional in September 1978 and made his debut in a 5-3 defeat at Swansea six months later. He left for Darlington in the summer of 1980, but returned a couple of years later. Starring as Hull rose from fourth tier to second between 1982 and 1985, Skipper was also an Associate Members’ Cup finalist in 1984 and netted 19 goals in 288 league matches overall before joining Oldham in October 1988. He later turned out for Walsall, Wrexham, Wigan (twice) and Stafford Rangers, then had various jobs and died in April 2019.

DEAN WINDASS

Striker Windass struck Hull’s winner in the 2007/08 Championship play-off final. A former Tigers trainee, he had a spell with North Ferriby before returning to the club in October 1991. He was leading marksman three times, moving on to Aberdeen in December 1995, then Oxford in the summer of 1998. Signing for Bradford less than a year later, Windass helped them reach the top-flight and later appeared for Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, then had a second stint with the Bantams, where he was top scorer on five occasions. Returning to the KCOM Stadium in January 2007, he netted 77 goals in 236 league games overall before signing for Darlington in 2009.

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GETTING TO KNOW… Harvey White

Do you have any hidden talents? I can’t practice my golf at the moment, but over the summer I got my handicap down to six. it needs to be more straightforward, especially in the Premier League where they’re using VAR. Liverpool didn’t have the greatest team, but he pulled them through to win trophies. What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate – Galaxy in particular. What makes you angry? Losing – I don’t like losing at anything I do. What would you do for a living if you weren’t a footballer? I’d probably still be involved in sport, perhaps as a coach. What’s the proudest moment of your career to date? Do you have any prematch superstitions? I always put my left boot on first. What boots do you wear? Adidas Predators. Who would play you in a In which other sport would you like to be a professional? Golf. I love it because it’s a nice, chilled sport. If you could change one rule in football, what would it be? Definitely the handball rule at the moment because There are four for me – scoring the first penalty at the new Tottenham stadium, my Spurs debut against Ludogorets, my full debut at Marine and now also my Pompey debut. Who was your sporting idol growing up? Steven Gerrard because film of your life? Daniel Craig because I like the James Bond films and grew up watching them. What’s your favourite film/TV programme? Grown Ups/Match of the Day.