The Tigers claimed victory after an entertaining Sunday afternoon tussle
Gary Rowett admitted Hull City were deserved 3-2 winners against his Oxford United side after Oli McBurnie slammed in a stoppage-time winner with a moment of real quality in the penalty box.
Oxford twice battled back to cancel out goals from Joe Gelhardt and Matt Crooks in a pulsating opening 26 minutes start to the game, with Will Lankshear and Cameron Brannagan volleying in after City failed to deal with Will Vaulks’ long throws.
Despite dominating the second half, it took until the 93rd minute for McBurnie to slot in the winner after Ryan Giles’ clever cut-back.
Speaking to Hull Live, Rowett felt his side should have been behind at the break rather than level at 2-2, but said McBurnie’s clever moment of quality was apparent.
“It’s always going to sting a little more when you get into that position,” the ex-Derby County boss said. “Maybe we didn’t deserve to go in level at half-time as they could have perhaps scored more goals before the break.
“After the break, I felt we weathered the storm after we made a change of formation. But, overall, certainly in the first half, Hull were much better than us and probably deserved to win the game.
“I would have expected us to have seen the game out for a scruffy draw. We felt maybe Hull’s frustration would allow us to create a few moments, but to concede like that so late is a bit sickening.
“Hull caused us a lot of problems with their moments but when you get a bit more stability as a team it will help. This division is about those little moments of quality which can win you tight games.”
You can also join our City WhatsApp community and get the latest news from the MKM Stadium straight to your mobile device. Click here to sign up. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.