City scraped through on Sunday afternoon and will be in Monday’s draw
Hull City’s players celebrate winning the shoot-out (Image: Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic was pleased to have broken his penalty curse after seeing David Akintola net the winning penalty to send the Tigers through in the FA Cup against Blackburn Rovers.
A drab goalless draw went to extra-time, before Dillon Phillips saved two Rovers spot-kicks in the shootout, and Akintola, who had hit the bar with a thumping volley, slotted in the decisive one to seal a 4-3 success and Jakirovic’s first shootout win as a manager.
It’s the first time since 2020 the Tigers have made it into the fourth round, and although at times it was a difficult watch, City prevailed, much to the delight of the head coach, who couldn’t watch the shootout and relied on the reaction of the supporters at the MKM Stadium.
City were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at Wrexham in August, but can now look forward to taking their place in Monday night’s draw.
“I’m very pleased to get through. I was expecting a very difficult game,” Jakirovic told Hull Live. “The game from the warm-up went completely wrong for us because we had to change Crooksy.
“He felt his quad, so then I didn’t want to take a risk with him. After 10 minutes, we lost Darko. We had a completely different plan for this game.
“In the first half, we didn’t play. We were average, especially as we were struggling in possession. Mostly we played backwards and then forwards. We had one chance through Liam Millar.
“At half-time, I tried to send a message to the players that we can play much better, that we can play with a bit more risk, that we can enjoy our football. Don’t be afraid of mistakes, and I think the second half was much better.
“We controlled everything, and unfortunately, we didn’t score the goal. In extra time, we tried to find more energy, more freshness through substitutions and in penalties, everything is possible. I must give credit to Dillon because he was fantastic today in the game as well, and also in the penalties, he saved two times.
“We scored more than Blackburn, and I broke my curse because I didn’t win on penalties since I’ve been a coach. I have lost a few important games on penalties, and I’m very happy because of that.
“I was there, but I watched in the crowd, our fans on the opposite side. When I see them, cheer, ‘Oh, it’s a goal,’ then it’s good. They celebrated, it’s good, we scored.”
While owner Acun Ilicali wants to avoid Chelsea until the final, Jakirovic admits a clash with the Blues would be tasty. “We broke the curse with this, didn’t we?” he joked, of City’s poor run in the competition.
“This is a secret message (to get to the final) to me. He’s (Ilicali) funny. I know why he wants Chelsea because of Liam. Liam is a great guy, and I wish him all the best. He’s a good guy, a good coach, of course and has a nice opportunity. I think he will be great there.
“On Friday, Saturday, today, a lot of very surprising results; every game is very difficult, no matter against whom you play. We will see who we get.
“Yes, I’ll be watching the draw. It’s very interesting, it’s a big tradition here. I didn’t know that this draw is so well-organised and everything, it’s very good, and I look forward to it.”
Meanwhile, Darko Gyabi will be assessed after he left the pitch injured early on in the first half with what appeared to be a serious groin problem.
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