The Tigers ended a run of two straight defeats with a valuable point in South Wales
Sergei Jakirovic said his Hull City side would never surrender after John Egan’s 97th-minute volley earned a deserved 2-2 draw at Swansea City, praising their determination and resilience. The Tigers looked to be heading for defeat until Egan slammed in a volley after Regan Slater’s shot was blocked, to earn his side a share of the spoils after a slow-burning contest in South Wales.Egan’s goal, his first for the club, was nothing more than Jakirovic’s side deserved after laying siege to the Swans’ goal in the second half, with home goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux making stunning saves to deny Joe Gelhardt and Mo Belloumi, while skipper Ben Cabango somehow blocked Egan’s earlier goalbound effort.
The Tigers boss was, however, disappointed with the manner of the two goals his side conceded in each half through Jan Vipotnik and Ronald, the Swans’ only efforts on target.
“My opinion is that we didn’t deserve to lose this game. In the second half, we had a lot of chances, clear chances,” he told Hull Live in the principality. “Again, the goalkeeper saved unbelievable shots like in Bristol at 3-1 down with Oli McBurnie.
“What is very, very bad for us is that we conceded the goal in the counter-attack. Maybe we can take the lead 2-1 (though Joe Gelhardt’s header), but I’m very happy for the lads because we didn’t surrender until the end.
“We played well with substitutions. We changed maybe a little because I think between 70 the 75th minute, we dropped a little bit towards our goal.
“We couldn’t take the ball if you remember, so we changed, and then we had more pressure on the defence of Swansea, and in the end, it’s a reward that we took one point. It’s very important for us.”
Jakirovic praised the players who came off the bench to turn the screw. Mo Belloumi, Regan Slater and Joel Ndala made a big impact, while Enis Destan could have scored, before Darko Gyabi came on for his debut.
Liam Millar is closing in on a welcome return, which further adds to his options in the front third of the pitch, while Semi Ajayi and Matt Crooks are edging closer, with the Croatian admitting he has a headache in selection.
“Now we have more options, especially in the midfield of the pitch,” he continued. “We now have wingers in Mo Belloumi and David Akintola on the right side. OK, today, we used Kyle Joseph because we had one idea in the middle zone when we are dropping three, that Kyle will support Oli McBurnie, so we have numbers in the opponent’s box and Gilo (Ryan Giles) coming.
“I think Gilo created three clear chances, which is very good, and also, Liam Millar is coming back, so now I have a headache.”
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