Hull city U18s 4 Blues U18s 5 David Popa netted a first-half hat-trick for Blues U18s as they secured a narrow away win at Hull City. As well as Popa (pictured), Khaellem Bailey was also on the goal trail for Blues as he found the back of the net twice in the nine-goal thriller. Blues had raced into a 5-2 lead, before two second-half goals from the hosts made it a nervy finish for the visitors. The margin of the victory could and should have been even greater, because Blues also missed two second-half penalties, with Tigers’ goalkeeper Erik Bukran saving both of them. Academy coach Steve Spooner was delighted with his side’s showing for the first 50 minutes of the contest, but felt they failed to capitalise on their first-half dominance. “I was disappointed that we didn't make the most of our opportunities, particularly in the first-half,” he said. “I think we could have put the game completely out of sight by half-time and we should have been four or five up. “We missed two second-half penalties as well, and that sort of summed the game up for us and it very nearly went the other way at the end.” Spooner continued: “You couldn't fault the players for their first-half performance because that was the best we have played this season and we were very good with the ball, so much so that I was disappointed that we didn't have more of an unassailable lead. “I’m not taking anything away from Hull because they played their part in an entertaining game but I didn't think we showed enough professionalism in closing it down and we started playing a little bit too much gung-ho and we lost some of our defensive discipline.” http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/birmingham-city-hull-city-2667965.aspx#q5d6FrXzBhcrc5bQ.99
