Hull City's Abu Kamara and Leeds United's Illan Meslier take draw of winners and losers to extremes — the final word — Yorkshire Post 5/1/25

By Stuart Rayner

A 3-3 draw could not lift Hull City out of the relegation zone or knock Leeds United off the top of the Championship, yet you would not have known it by the full-time mood.

Three-one down as the clock ticked over to the 81st minute, there was little doubt Hull were the "winners" of this draw, Leeds its "losers". But Abu Kamara and Illan Meslier took it to extremes.

After scoring his first two goals for the club, Saturday might be the day winger Kamara's Hull career took off – some achievement considering how tightly he was trapped in the doghouse before it.

His stoppage-time substitution met with a standing ovation.

Meslier's time at Leeds began in earnest with a league debut at Hull in 2020. His role in a chastening draw may not end it, but the charge sheet is filling up.

His initial reaction to the final whistle was to skulk away but he thought better of it, turning back to acknowledge the fans.

They did not want to see him, of course, but as Tim Walter arrogantly proved when his Hull tenure turned sour, snubbing supporters pours fuel on yourself and the fire.

Life is all about timing, and Meslier's stinks.

The final touch of a televised top-of-the-table clash at Sunderland was a lousy time to come down the wicket to a ball which barely turned past him and into the net, but that cost Leeds two points in October.

Strike one, at least for this season.

Quite what strike he was up to on Saturday depends how harsh a judge you are but a Yorkshire derby is no time to have a stinker playing for a club with money in the bank and a transfer window open. An FA Cup tie against League Two strugglers Harrogate Town next up gives manager Daniel Farke the chance to drop Meslier and pretend he has not, and Hull fans know Karl Darlow is a more than capable Championship alternative.

Some blamed Meslier for rushing out of his area as Kamara lobbed him to open the scoring. He was never likely to win the race to Mason Burstow's brilliant pass, but Ivor Pandur showed the value at 3-2 when getting his head in the way of a similar attempt from Dan James.

There was no excusing the second goal, though.

Sean McLoughlin's header was looping over the crossbar when Meslier tapped it down for Joao Pedro to score. It says something about the belief Ruben Selles has created that the crowd believed it could be more than a consolation goal.

Sam Bryam's header rather than Meslier's attempted punch presented the ball to an unmarked Kamara to put the tin lid on it in the 89th minute with a thumping half-volley but the keeper's failed attempt left the goal open.

Maybe Meslier should chat to Kamara about redemption.

How grown-ups got in such a tizz about another grown-up putting a smiley-face emoji and a heart emoji on the Instagram post of a former team-mate 99 per cent of them do not follow after his first Championship goal would be unfathomable unless you knew the backstory. The underlying reason the poor snowflakes were so ): was more legitimate – a professional winger not tracking back in the closing stages of what should have been a 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough that day.

Putting a 21-year-old uncomfortable speaking in public even in happy times up for a pre-match "hostage video" that smacked of dragging a naughty schoolboy by the lughole to the next-door neighbours' doorstep to apologise for the misplaced shot which putt his window through when he was out divided opinion.

It worked, though.

Selles went further, restoring Kamara, a substitute against the Teessiders, to his XI.

Only the context put Kamara winning the ball Leeds pressed Alfie Jones into giving up in the second minute into the notebook, but it did far more good than anything said pre-match. His calm lob five minutes in really won them over.

Scoring an equaliser which once looked beyond Hull was like smothering the fans in apologetic kisses.

As Hull grew into the first half, doggedly defending their 1-0 lead as Leeds laboured to make chances despite lots of the ball at the right end of the field, points looked possible.

Had Regan Slater not hit a post when Gustavo Puerta's cross presented him with an open goal, albeit from a tight angle, the chances would have been even better.

But as soon as Ao Tanaka curled a gorgeous goal into the net less than a minute after half-time, it felt like that bubble spectacularly burst.

Jayden Bogle screwed back a deflected Manor Solomon cross for James’ third goal against his home club and when Hull's Pink Pandur had his own Clouseau-eqsque moment, kicking straight to scorer Joel Piroe, it looked like everything had been wrapped up inside 72 minutes.

It surely would have been had James been able to emulate Kamara in the 85th minute.

But there was no denying Kamara his day, or sparing Meslier from his.