Hull City winger Abu Kamara is determined to open his account for the club today when the Tigers host rivals Leeds United and respond perfectly to his critics.
Kamara was roundly criticised for his part in Middlesbrough’s 93rd-minute winning goal on Wednesday night, along with skipper Lewie Coyle, allowing Delano Burgzorg to breeze into the Tigers penalty area before cutting the ball back for Alex Gilbert to slot into the net.
Shortly after that crushing 1-0 MKM Stadium defeat which left City back in the bottom three, Kamara posted a congratulatory message to his close friend and former Portsmouth teammate Paddy Lane following their 4-0 win over Swansea City.
A small section of City fans were unhappy with that comment so soon after the Tigers’ defeat, particularly given the manner of the concession against Boro. And in an unusual step, boss Ruben Selles opted to speak to the media alongside Kamara on the eve of the clash with Leeds United to publicly back the 21-year-old winger and address the situation.
“I made a comment on one of my friend’s posts on Instagram a couple of days ago,” Kamara told Hull Live. “I’d say first of all, it was a mistake, and I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I just wanted to express my feelings on how happy I was for him to score his first Championship goal, but it was the wrong timing, and it sparked a bit of an outroar, so I apologise for my actions.”
While many won’t have seen the post, nor even care a jot, and in truth, be more concerned about the manner of the Boro goal, Kamara admits the whole situation has caught him by surprise but says the concession of the winning goal has been dealt with, and learnt from.
“Yes, I was, to be honest (surprised by the reaction),” he said. “I was in bed with my missus, and I was seeing a lot of comments. I was just confused as to why I was getting all these messages. I didn’t really think much of it, but my agent got in contact with me, saying that it was a big problem, so I just thought I needed to address it and say there was no malicious intent with my comment. It was just a simple message to my friend congratulating him on his first goal in the Champ.
“I came in this morning (Friday), and everyone’s just asking how I feel, so it’s good to know that I can just come into the club and talk to someone if need be. I just spoke to the manager (about the goal), the staff around the building, and all the players, and they’ve just told me to just keep my head down and focus on the next game. Don’t dwell too much on the mistake that was made, and just focus on what’s next to come.”
Kamara says he’s desperate to open his goal account having seen one chalked off at Blackburn Rovers last Sunday, and against the table-toppers, would be a big boost.
“Getting the first goal would do me very well, to be honest,” he continued. “I feel like I need a goal at this point. I’ve just been waiting for it, but I can’t wait till that ball hits the net and it’s actually counted.
“Yes, definitely (the goal will come). I’ve just got to keep hitting the right areas, and hopefully, the ball will fall for me, and I’ll just put it in the back of the net. I hope so (it comes against Leeds)
“If we win against Leeds, it would definitely bring up the morale around the training ground, and it’ll give us that push that we need to really fight and really get out of the position that we’re in.
“I thought the boys showed real unity against Middlesbrough. It was just that last action that the boss said (the goal), but I thought throughout that game, we really showed that we’re together in this and we can grind out results.”