The Tigers twice led before gifting Rangers a home victory in the Championship fixture on Saturday
Sergej Jakirovic questioned why his Hull City panicked so much at key points City were 2-1 up early in the second half courtesy of Enis Destan’s bullet header, having twice led in West London before succumbing to a second straight away defeat.
Joe Gelhardt’s sixth goal in his last seven games fired City in front, before Rangers dragged themselves level before the break when the ball fell kindly for Ilias Chair to slot in the net, though the Croatian was frustrated with a foul on his goalscorer that wasn’t given in the build-up.
City were 2-1 up early in the second half courtesy of Enis Destan’s bullet header from another teasing Ryan Giles delivery, but Jimmy Dunne’s lofted finish just four minutes later had the hosts on terms, and then another fortunate ricochet saw the ball land at the feet of Rumarn Burrell to slot in.
Jakirovic felt his side lacked the control and aggression at times, especially after going 2-1 up when they failed to clear a corner to allow Rangers to make it 2-2.
“We are a very attractive team, I can say it like this, because I think that we entered the game very well,” Jakirovic told Hull Live as he reflected on a missed opportunity.
“Mostly, we control everything that we expected from QPR. We scored a very nice counter-attack through ‘Joffo’ (Gelhardt). They had a one hundred per cent chance that was saved by Ivor (Pandur).
“We conceded the goal. In my opinion, this is a clear foul on Joffo because what I saw on the tablet is obviously a foul, but OK. Like I say, I always respect the referee’s decision.
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“During the half-time, I tried to maybe change our pressing, especially in the middle block, because they tried to rotate on the left side, so we had better control here with their number 10, Chair.
“We took the lead at 2-1, and some things that bother me; why we’re immediately dropping down, why we are defending, why is it panic? Why don’t we continue to play like we have till now? We had problems today, not from set-pieces but from the second ball. We didn’t read the game well, we didn’t control after the second ball, the players in the box.
“After 2-2, the momentum completely changed on the pitch. We made some unusual mistakes; our gaps in the defence were very, very big. After 3-2, we tried to put on some offensive players to put pressure on them. We had good possession but were not very proactive. We weren’t breaking their lines with good vertical passes. Through Kyle Joseph, we had a one-hundred per cent chance, a fantastic save from the goalkeeper. That was everything from us.
“It’s panic. Why panic? I don’t know. If we are defending with (Ryan) Giles, there with (Joel) Ndala coming to help, Kyle Joseph coming to help, and then we take the ball. Why are we kicking the ball in front because no one is there? You can play in boxes like three against one, four against two.”
Jakirovic says there’s no time to dwell on this setback, which leaves City sixth in the Championship with Ipswich Town the visitors to the MKM Stadium on Tuesday night.
“We need to be more calm on the ball. We showed already that we have a quality for that. Unbelievable (to score twice away and lose), even though we didn’t take one point. This is a frustration for me, but also we don’t have time to be sad or in depression, because on Tuesday we have another game, so we’re looking forward.”
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