Markovic loving life in Tigers’ survival fight
Lazar Markovic is revelling in Hull City’s Premier League relegation fight and paid tribute to the club’s fans after Saturday’s 2-0 home win against Watford kept them on course for survival.
The Serbian broke the deadlock after the interval as Hull overcame the controversial first-half dismissal of Oumar Niasse, with Sam Clucas crashing home the game-clinching second nine minutes later.
The Tigers’ sixth win in seven home league games under head coach Marco Silva kept them two points clear of the drop zone after third-bottom Swansea beat Stoke 2-0.
They are now 12 points above bottom club Sunderland, who are the next visitors to the KCOm Stadium on May 6.
“We sensed that the fans believed in us all the way through even after the red card and as players we believe we can stay in this league,” Markovic told the club’s official website.
“We have to thank the fans for their support against Watford and I’m happy to be a part of this fight.”
Markovic, 23, who arrived on loan from Liverpool in January until the end of the season, opened the scoring in the 62nd minute.
A textbook counter-attack ended with Markovic heading Kamil Grosicki’s ball in against the crossbar, but the Serb followed up to fire home the rebound.
Hull’s survival hopes had been dealt a blow in the 25th minute when referee Robert Madley harshly adjudged Niasse’s midfield challenge on M’Baye Niang to have been worthy of a straight red card.
Niasse inadvertently caught his opponent on the shin but it was not a studs-up tackle and Silva confirmed Hull will be appealing against the dismissal.
Silva’s side sealed the points in the 72nd minute thanks to Clucas’ dipping, 25-yard shot following Grosicki’s half-cleared corner.
That strike capped another accomplished midfield display from Clucas, whose stamina and excellent distribution throughout will have only heightened speculation linking him with an England call-up.
“I’ve been waiting for one of those all season to be fair,” said the former Lincoln trainee. “My position’s on the edge of the box. I’ve been waiting for one to come out so I can have a go and fortunately it came off.”
Clucas quickly turned his attention to next week’s trip to Southampton, where Hull will bid for only their second win on the road in the Premier League this season.
“Away performances haven’t been as good as we’d like them to be and certainly haven’t been as good as our home performances,” he added.
“We’ve got to go away from home, play well and put a performance in and hopefully that will start next week.”
Watford spurned several chances. Sebastien Prodl’s first-half header was well saved by Hull keeper Eldin Jakupovic, while Nordin Amrabat, Miguel Britos and, in the second half, Etienne Capoue were all guilty of failing to convert opportunities.