It was a 0-0 draw between Hull City and Nassa in a club friendly on Friday, August 15th. Both sides went through the motions without finding the net, and neither manager could claim a comprehensive victory. To be fair, it felt like a match where both teams were still finding their rhythm rather than committing to anything decisive.
Hull City made five changes around the hour mark, bringing on S. Ajayi, J. Egan, R. Giles, J. Hjerto-Dahl and E. Stroud all at once. That kind of wholesale reshuffle suggests the manager was looking for something different, or perhaps just getting fresh legs a chance to test themselves. And here's the thing — when you make five substitutions on the stroke of the hour, you're not necessarily looking for a result in that ninety minutes.
The statistics tell a story of fairly even contest. Hull City registered 56 attacks against Nassa's 62, while both teams held exactly 50 per cent possession. Hull won six corners to Nassa's four, which doesn't paint a particularly dramatic picture. By then, it was clear enough what kind of afternoon we were watching — a work-in-progress rather than a showcase.
Hull City's recent form looks more promising. They beat Rizespor 2-1, Konyaspor 3-0 and Middlesbrough 1-0 in their last three friendlies before that defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt and the draw with Kasimpasa. Nassa had mixed fortunes too — a thrashing of Nimes 4-0 and Saint-Etienne 4-1, but also losses to Juventus and a goalless draw with Cagliari.
What this means for both clubs is not much at this stage. It's pre-season, and the table doesn't exist outside of these friendlies anyway. Both teams will take the lack of goals conceded as a small positive, though neither side did enough to set the tone for what comes next.