 Friday, 6th Jan 2012 16:34 Former Hull City loanee Ibrahima Sonko will return to the Blues’ backline as Town face the Tigers in the third round of the FA Cup at the KC Stadium on Saturday. Sonko, one of several ex-Hull players in Paul Jewell’s squad, is back after serving a one-match ban having reached five bookings. The Senegalese international is set to come back into the centre of the defence alongside Damien Delaney, another former Tiger, with Ãvar Ingimarsson dropping out of the side. Aaron Cresswell and Carlos Edwards are expected to continue as the full-backs with Arran Lee-Barrett in goal. Jewell is unlikely to stray too far away from his regular side but with Lee Bowyer out for around a fortnight with a groin problem and Andy Drury cup-tied, he’ll be forced into changes, while Keith Andrews, also a one-time Hull employee, misses the final game of his loan spell with a torn hamstring. Bowyer’s absence could see Jimmy Bullard, perhaps the highest profile of the Blues’ ex-Tigers given his summer sacking and ongoing legal fight with his old club, returning to the midfield as long as he is over the flu bug which saw him miss Monday’s defeat to Nottingham Forest. If he doesn’t make it, then Town look short on alternative options with Josh Carson perhaps coming into the team in the centre — a role he has played in the reserves and U18s - alongside skipper Grant Leadbitter with Mark Kennedy and Luke Hyam other possibilities. Daryl Murphy and Lee Martin are likely to continue as the widemen. Up front, Jason Scotland is understood to be over his hamstring problem but will probably be on the bench, with Michael Chopra coming back into the starting line-up alongside Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who has impressed in the last two games. Tamás Priskin was back with the squad yesterday after his loan spell at Derby and Jewell confirmed that the Hungarian will be considered like every other player in his squad. Manager Jewell says that despite the defeat to Forest, the earlier displays over Christmas weren’t too bad, despite the lack of points picked up, and that his side created chances on Monday, even if the defending was well below par: “The performance against Reading was good for long periods, as it was against Leicester. “We beat Derby without ever playing well. We had the comeback against Barnsley, but it was disappointing to lose 3-1 to a team that is down the bottom on Monday. “When we made basic errors, we conceded goals and were up against it but we played worse against Derby than we did against Notts Forest. “We had that little bit of luck and resilience to win the Derby game, but we created more opportunities against Notts Forest than we have at home for a while.” Town will be looking to avoid losing at the third round stage for the fifth time in eight years, their last five third round draws all having been away from home. Last season saw a 7-0 loss at Chelsea in the period between Roy Keane’s exit and Jewell taking over. The current manager’s greatest moment in the competition was during his time as a Wigan player, but he admits he doesn’t have the finest record: “The best memory I have of the FA Cup is scoring a goal to knock Norwich out in about 1987. Other than that, I’ve never gone too far in the cup.” He admits that he regrets not having Andy Drury available, the midfielder, who did well against Forest, having played for Crawley during his loan spell: “I do actually. I’m not passing the buck, but I wasn’t quite aware of it, but it was a mistake I made. Another mistake I made,” he said ruefully, referring back to his earlier comments regarding his summer transfer policy. Jewell says Hull seem to have coped well with Nigel Pearson’s exit and Nicky Barmby taking over initially as caretaker-manager, but with his full-time appointment set to be confirmed in the next few days: “I think they’ve been steady since Nicky Barmby took over, pretty much seamless. I know they lost against Derby but they’re a tough side to break down, certainly at home. “It’ll be a hard game. I know it’s a cup match but in this league every team can beat everyone else.” Despite no points being on offer, he says a win can help his side’s league campaign: “Winning any match is always beneficial and there’s no benefit in losing matches. You always want to win games because it gives people confidence. “It’s a diversion from the league,” he added. “But it won’t be a Championship result, it might look like one. It’s a game that’s going to be difficult for us that one we should be looking forward to because we’ve had a tough result against Forest. “Going away to Hull, while there are no league points at stake, there’s pressure on us because we want to win every game we play in.” Hull’s caretaker-manager Nick Barmby has said he’ll make one or two changes but won’t be fielding a reserves side against the Blues. Midfielders Seyi Olofinjana and Richard Garcia could come into contention, while goalkeeper Vito Mannone has rejoined the Tigers on loan from Arsenal and Manchester United have confirmed that winger Robbie Brady will be allowed to remain at the KC Stadium for the remainder of the season. Striker Jay Simpson, who has a habit of scoring against Town, is back from his recent loan spell with Millwall. Barmby, who has hung up his boots, says the game will give those called into service a chance to win themselves places on a more regular basis: "There will be a few players who come in and this will be an opportunity for them. "That is what squads are for and I have belief that whoever comes in will do a good job and put pressure on whoever played in their position the previous week. "There won't be massive wholesale changes, but there will be some new faces that play and we're looking forward to the game." Town defender Damien Delaney played for Hull from 2002 until 2008, making 235 starts and four sub appearances, scoring five goals. Defender Ibrahima Sonko made nine appearances for the Tigers while on loan from Stoke in 2009/10. Loanee Keith Andrews joined Hull in 2005 when his contract at Wolves ran out and in two years in East Yorkshire, the midfielder made 25 starts and five sub appearances without scoring a goal. Jimmy Bullard was Hull's record £5 million signing but managed only 19 starts and five sub appearances, scoring six goals. Liam Rosenior, who was on loan with the Blues from Reading during 2009/10, is the only current Tiger to have represented Town. Hull’s head of football operations Adam Pearson was Paul Jewell’s boss in his time as manager of Derby. Historically, the Tigers just have the edge on the Blues having won 10 of the games between the teams, while Town have been victorious eight times and a further nine matches have been draws. The teams have never previously met in a cup competition. Matty Fryatt’s second half goal was enough to give Hull City a 1-0 league victory over the Blues at Portman Road in August. Town had the better of a first period in which Delaney had hit the bar, but the Tigers improved after the break with Fryatt making the most of a defensive lapse with 14 minutes remaining. In the most recent game at the KC Stadium in November 2010, Robert Koren’s deflected 25-yard second half strike was enough to give Hull a 1-0 win. The Tigers had hit the woodwork twice within a minute in the first half of what was a drab game with neither side creating much in front of goal during the entire 90 minutes. Saturday’s referee is Craig Pawson from South Yorkshire, who has shown 65 yellow cards and a somewhat excessive-seeming eight red cards in 18 games so far this season. Pawson’s last Town game was the 3-0 home victory over Coventry at Portman Road earlier this season in which he booked only one player, Sky Blue David Bell. 18-man FA Cup squad from: Lee-Barrett, Wright, Edwards, Cresswell, Ainsley, Sonko, Delaney, Ingimarsson, Smith, Leadbitter, Bullard, Carson, Hyam, Kennedy, Murphy, Martin, Emmanuel-Thomas, Chopra, Scotland, Ellington.
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