Leeds United old boy inflicts surprise defeat on Yorkshire and Championship rivals in peculiar mid-season game

Thursday afternoon’s somewhat unexpected 1-0 friendly win over Hull City by Caribbean nation Curaçao featured former Leeds United player Vurnon Anita from the off.

During this month’s international break, the Tigers are now in Turkey using the chance to put the bulk of Liam Rosenior’s squad through their paces in a warm weather training camp. However, before they return to Championship action, they suffered an odd friendly loss. At the end of the Championship season, Hull is vying for a play-off spot. Their next home game is on Good Friday, followed by a visit to Elland Road on Easter Monday.

Since their last competitive match, a 2-2 draw with title contenders Leicester City at the MKM Stadium on March 9, Rosenior’s team has not played a competitive match. Instead, they have scheduled a friendly with the tiny Caribbean nation to fill their 20-day gap between games and Curaçao, a former Dutch colony. In front of a small audience in Antalya that included fifty Hull supporters, an XI that included former Leeds striker Billy Sharp and Aaron Connolly was unable to break through their opponent’s defense a fully funded visit to the nation, provided by chairman, owner, and Turkish television magnate Acun Ilicali.

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Former Rangers and Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat chose the Curaçao starting lineup, which featured players like Vurnon Anita, who played one season at Elland Road in 2016–17, and former Swansea City midfielder Kenji Gorré. The CONCACAF-affiliated country also included Birmingham City’s Juninho Bacuna in action, while Rangelo Janga scored the game’s lone goal to extend his record of 18 goals while wearing a national team shirt. Anita now plays goalkeeping for Al-Orobah, a Saudi Arabian team that is currently in second place in the second division, behind Al-Qadsiyah, who signed former Leeds goalkeeper Joel Robles last summer. Anita leads the Middle Eastern club in goals and assists in 2023–2024.

stints at Dutch team RKC Waalwijk and Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia after his short stay at Leeds. Due to international service, several of Hull’s regular starters, notably center-forward Noah Ohio, were unable to play in this match. In addition, other players, including center-half Jacob Greaves and starting goalkeepers Ryan Allsop and Matt Ingram, were rested. Before the Tigers’ visit to Elland Road in less than two weeks, Rosenior is unlikely to have been impressed by players on the margins.

In the FIFA Men’s World Rankings, Curaçao is presently ranked 91st, in between Uganda and Haiti.