Sergei Jakirovic ‘sorry for the lads’ as Hull’s unbeaten run ends

Hull head coach Sergei Jakirovic said he “felt sorry” for his team after they were beaten 2-1 at Derby.

Jakirovic saw his side fight back only for a goalkeeping error to end Hull’s six-match unbeaten run.

Carlton Morris continued his rich vein of form by heading Derby into a 27th-minute lead but Hull improved after the break and Joel Ndala netted his first league goal when Joe Ward collided with goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

The game was decided by a mistake by Hull keeper Ivor Pandur in the 83rd minute which allowed Lars-Jorgen Salvesen to score his first Derby goal of the season.

Jakirovic said: “I’m very sorry for the lads because they put a lot of energy into this game, especially after Saturday. There is not too much time to recover, especially when we are short in our squad, but we are looking forward.

“It’s very disappointing because I think we played very well, especially in the second half when we were much better and controlled everything. First half we didn’t create so much and we made one mistake from a corner and Morris scores a fantastic header.

“After we equalised we started to play better but we didn’t score a second goal and then one mistake but this is football and it happens, especially with the goalkeeper.

“In my opinion Semi (Ajayi) needs to play a back pass and Ivor (Pandur) must stay in his box because Semi is closer to the ball and I have watched the video. But it’s a misunderstanding and he tried to clear the ball but he missed.”

For Derby head coach John Eustace, a fourth consecutive win again underlined the togetherness of his squad.

“I thought first half we were excellent, really dominated them and didn’t really feel under any threat,” he said. “Then second half I felt we just lost our way a little bit.

“We had a really difficult game on Saturday and the lads looked a bit leggy in that second half but we found a way to win and again it’s about the squad, the players we brought on gave us a little bit of life and energy.

“We’ve got a fantastic group of players, it’s our family. We’ve had some difficult moments together but we find a way to win. We reflect, we demand from each other and we criticise each other but it stays in house.

“During a long Championship season there are going to be highs and lows but this group are relentless, which is something that we really push behind the scenes at the training ground and in team meetings.”