City were kept out by a resolute Hornets side
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic watches on(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic praised the battling qualities of his side in fighting to earn a 0-0 draw against managerless Watford.
Jakirovic admitted his side were below-par on the night, and were fortunate to keep a second consecutive clean sheet for the first time this season.
The result, just a second 0-0 in the league of the season, moves the Tigers to within four points of the top two, and crucially, nine clear of seventh spot with 16 games to go.
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“Perfect point for us,” the Croatian told Hull Live at the MKM Stadium on Tuesday evening. “If you watch everything backwards, Watford were better. On the ball without the ball, they were very dangerous, and we knew it because this is a team with a lot of potential. They are powerful, quick, and they can make a difference in every part of the pitch.
“Especially the first half, we dropped too much, we struggled there, when you take the ball, you don’t have any options for good possession or for counter-attacks, and they missed some chances, good chances, and I cannot complain for this point. Every point is very important in this league, and we are very satisfied with one point.”
After Javi Gracia quit on Sunday, Charlie Daniels took charge and because of that change, Jakirovic said on Monday that he was unsure about what response the Hornets would get.
“I know how in football when a new manager comes, no matter if it’s from the Under 21s, a caretaker or a new coach, it’s always new energy. You want to prove that that was a bad period and that’s now behind you; you left this behind. They are a good team, we know that.”
While the winning run is over, it’s now just one defeat in 13 for the Tigers, and those battling qualities are crucial, Jakirovic says.
“Very important, I think the lads already showed that they are fighting for each other and especially in the second half, when we made substitutions with Lunny (Lundstram), with Kyle (Joseph), with Koumas, with Giles, we brought some new energy
“There were a lot of yellow cards, but you must stop them. There is no other way to stop them because they are very, very fast, and I think that this is very important for us that we are fighting for each other, we know it’s a nice group, a good group.”
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