Too negative when he shoulda gone for it. Left Abel on the bench.
His substitutions, all three of them, could be considered defensive. Only Markus Henriksen for Evandro could be argued as a like-for-like; Tom Huddlestone taking the place of Kamil Grosicki and Michael Dawson coming on for Lazar Markovic were both very conservative moves. Silva has worked miracles since his arrival at the KCOM stadium, but was he right to settle so wilfully for a solitary point?
Swansea City's draw at Manchester United on Sunday saw the gap restored to just two points between the Tigers and the Swans. Good news for Hull, according to some. The same margin with one less game would appear, on the face of it, to be a successful week for Hull City. However, that's a little too simplistic for my liking, and with just three games to go in the Premier League now, one really must look to each club's remaining fixtures.
This coming weekend, Hull City play host to already relegated Sunderland, whilst Swansea see the visit of Everton. The Black Cats present a real potential banana skin for Hull City, but even if one ignores that, and supposes that everything goes to plan for the Tigers, they will find themselves five points clear of Paul Clement's side, with final fixtures away to Crystal Palace and at home to Tottenham. Meanwhile, the Swans head to Sunderland before a home game against West Brom on the final day.
The bookies still make Hull City strong favourites to retain their Premier League status. I cannot be so sure. The Swans have a great chance of winning their final two games, whilst one cannot rule out the possibility of them taking something at home to an Everton side who have drawn to West Ham and lost to Chelsea in their most recent outings. If Swansea are to reach 38 or even 39 points, Hull City will have to beat either Crystal Palace or Tottenham, as well as Sunderland, to keep their heads above the water.