Source: Team_Talk
Boateng released from hospital
Hull midfielder George Boateng was released from hospital on Sunday morning afer scans came back clear on the head injury he suffered at Stoke.[LNB] The veteran Dutchman was carried off on a stretcher and taken straight to hospital after being struck in the face by Stoke forward Tuncay Sanli's overhead kick.[LNB]He was kept in hospital overnight for observation amid fears he had suffered a fractured jaw, but has now returned home after a series of scans and X-rays all came back clear.[LNB]That is the one piece of good news for the Tigers after a match at Stoke in which they offered very little. And Tigers boss Iain Dowie believes they must get a win away from home if they are to escape relegation from the Premier League.[LNB]The 2-0 defeat at the Britannia Stadium was their 13th in 17 matches on the road this season but their drought actually stretches back to March 4 last year, when they beat Fulham at Craven Cottage.[LNB]Fortunately, four of their remaining six matches are at the KC Stadium.[LNB]However, with Aston Villa and Liverpool yet to visit Dowie is keen to pick up points in crucial fixtures at Birmingham and Wigan.[LNB]"Everyone talks about our away form but in the time I've been here we've had a mad five or 10 minutes at Portsmouth (a 3-2 defeat) and a poor half," he said.[LNB]"I can't look at what has happened in the past. I thought we played very positively at Portsmouth and we played positively in the second half at Stoke.[LNB]"We've got four games at home and they will be big games. We've also got to go to Wigan and Birmingham and take something because I think that will be required.[LNB]"We are in good spirits and we have to make sure we turn our home form to our advantage against Burnley."[LNB]Dowie was in a similar situation 12 months ago as assistant to Alan Shearer when the pair were appointed in a desperate but failed bid to save the Magpies from relegation.[LNB]However, this time around he is the man in charge and he knows he has no-one to hide behind when things go wrong.[LNB]"It is a totally different set of circumstances when you are making the final decision; it is much easier as a number two to make decisions," he said.[LNB]Asked if there was anything he could use from his Newcastle experience to save Hull, Dowie added: "You learn you have to take your opportunities and you have to have a group of players who have a belief in the way you play.[LNB]"Clarity is important, you have to be very clear what you want to do and I've made a point of doing that.[LNB]"You need to have clarity of game plan, clarity of team shape and the way you have to go about it."[LNB]What was crystal clear at Stoje were Hull's problems.[LNB]In only the sixth minute defender Paul McShane misread Dave Kitson's flick-on with disastrous consequences as Ricardo Fuller nipped in behind him and raced into the penalty area to beat Boaz Myhill.[LNB]"We cannot afford to concede goals in that manner - they clear the ball from the back, win a flick-on and are through on goal," added Dowie.[LNB]"We need to be a bit brighter, get our wide men into the game and pass the ball with a quicker tempo."[LNB]Even during their best spell of play in the entire match - 20 minutes in the middle of the second half - the Tigers failed to test goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.[LNB]Their problems were compounded when, having used all three substitutes, Boateng was carried off.[LNB]For 15 minutes - plus a further eight added on for the injury - the visitors had to play with 10 men and Liam Lawrence exploited the extra space to fire home the decisive second in the last minute of regulation time.