The Tigers suffered a home loss to the Potters for the fifth consecutive season
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic admitted his side fell well below the levels he’s become accustomed to after the Tigers were beaten 1-0 atm home by Stoke City on New Year’s Day.
City were a goal down six minutes before the break when Robert Bozenik tapped in at the back post, having been left unmarked.
Charlie Hughes crashed an effort off the bar in the first half, and substitute Kasey Palmer thought he’d equalised when his fizzing strike cannoned off the underside of the woodwork deep into 17 minutes of added time.
The hosts huffed and puffed without ever really troubling rookie goalkeeper Tommy Simkin, with Jakirovic’s men mustering just one effort on target, something which left Jakirovic frustrated.
“Yes, especially in the first half,” Jakirovic told Hull Live when asked if it was a game too far, given the injuries and that effort at Boro. “We didn’t play how we wanted to. There were a lot of long, long balls, a lot of air challenges.
“I think, for Stoke, it was very, very easy to defend against. They put it, I think, five centre-backs in their defensive line and with their number six, they are very tall. We didn’t even try to play in possession, especially with more creativity, more ideas in the game.
“Maybe when Charlie hits the crossbar from there, we will score, but I expected this type of game and also the whole game was on one goal from what I saw, and then they used the one mistake in open play and they scored.
“I was thinking it’s offside, but we are dropping too early. I don’t know why without opponent players. You can defend it better.
“In the second half, we tried. We put everything that we have on the bench offensively; we changed the system.
“We had one, I think, good opportunity through Oli McBurnie when Liam (Millar) passed to him and then when Kasey hit the crossbar. That’s it.
“The game was very, very long, especially because of these two injuries (to Bozenik and Coyle). In these moments, it’s those who will find the energy to go again.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have options in some positions, and we are struggling a lot because it’s not easy to replace our, I can say, best players who are best statistically.
“We will analyse this game, but we don’t have time to analyse it because of the quick turnaround. We must try to find the energy and the freshness for the next game against Watford on Sunday.”
City mustered just one attempt on target, and gave Tommy Simkin a fairly easy game, having been recalled from a loan spell at Leyton Orient to deputise for the injured Viktor Johansson.
“Yes, I agree completely, but he showed me great quality, especially for our long balls behind the defensive line,” the Croatian said about the Tigers failing to work him.
“I was thinking how we would go towards the goal alone, but he was there. He read the game very, very well. I’m surprised because he was in League One. Our plan was to try more shots, but unfortunately, we didn’t.”
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service.
Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.