City put a nine point gap between themselves and the Rams in the play-off chase
Lewis Koumas slammed in Hull City’s fourth against Derby County(Image: Pro Sports Images)
Sergej Jakirovic praised his Hull City side for battling to one of their biggest wins of the season, beating play-off rivals Derby County 4-2 in an MKM Stadium thriller.
City twice led in the first half through a Callum Elder own goal and Oli McBurnie’s stunning finish, only to be pegged back through some schoolboy defending yet again.
Craig Forsyth from an offside position equalised before McBurnie hammered home, but that lead lasted for just three minutes, with Sammie Szmodics slotting in the leveller just before the break.
The hosts rode their luck at times in the second half, losing Ryan Giles to a hamstring injury before John Egan’s fine spin and shot made it 3-2 with 15 minutes to go, and then the icing was placed on top the cake when Lewis Koumas came off the bench ton hammer in the fourth five minutes from time.
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“I’m very happy because the players showed a great team effort,” the Croatian boss told Hull Live after a significant success.
“A lot of fighting over the pitch, first and second balls, front foot, a lot of challenges. We changed our style, we didn’t open up, we didn’t have build-up play sometimes, because of the condition of the pitch.
“We were very pragmatic. We were very aggressive in those challenges, and we scored with two nice goals. The first goal is from a set piece, but we had good chances that they blocked. I’m very pleased with the lads, for the team, and we have to continue like this.
“I didn’t care (how we won). I said to the lads I don’t care about the impression. Maybe next time we can worry about that. I only care about taking the three points; that was very important, and they played a very good game today.”
Jakirovic was unhappy with the performance of referee Adam Herczeg, who struggled from the first minute when he booked Patrick Agyemang.
Derby’s first goal from Craig Forsyth was clearly offside, and a poor display continued from then on, with him losing control in the second half, and both managers were frustrated. “Every time we concede it’s a poor goal, but it’s offside,” the City boss added.
The City boss also confirmed Ryan Giles will be assessed after limping off with what looked like a recurrence of the hamstring injury he only recently returned from.
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