Sergej Jakirovic takes a point but regrets Hull’s performance at Sheff Wed

Hull head coach Sergej Jakirovic felt his sluggish side played like it was Christmas Day during an underwhelming 2-2 draw at rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday.

The high-flying Tigers would have gone third in the Sky Bet Championship with victory at Hillsborough but needed to twice come from behind to salvage a point.

Matt Crooks’ 65th-minute equaliser earned City a draw, cancelling out a goal from Bailey Cadamarteri after Mohamed Belloumi levelled in the 37th minute following an opener from Owls midfielder Svante Ingelsson.

Hull stay fourth, below Ipswich on goal difference, while Wednesday move on to minus eight points but remain without a home league victory this season after their wretched winless run stretched to 16 games.

“I’m satisfied with this point because how we played today was not so good, without energy,” said Jakirovic.

“We played like today it’s Christmas. On 20 per cent of what we can.

“We showed maybe good character because two times we were down and we came back.

“If you ask them (the players) maybe they will say they gave 100 per cent but I know my team.

“You can make this game easy for you if your attitude, your approach is professional. In this league you cannot beat anyone without maximum effort.”

Jakirovic was frustrated by his team’s defending for Wednesday’s two goals and a host of refereeing decisions.

With the score 1-1, referee Stephen Martin awarded the hosts a foul seconds before Tigers winger Liam Millar found the net in the final moments of the first half.

Owls defender Gabriel Otegbayo then avoided punishment early in the second half following a tangle with the clean-through Ollie McBurnie.

Jakirovic also thought Wednesday’s second goal should have been disallowed for offside against Jamal Lowe, who challenged Akin Famewo before the ball dropped to scorer Cadamarteri.

Meanwhile, Hull defender John Egan was substituted at half-time, having escaped a second yellow card after appearing to stand on the ankle of Ingelsson.

“I don’t argue with them because I cannot change anything,” Jakirovic said of the match officials.

Depleted Wednesday handed a first league start to 19-year-old midfielder Jarvis Thornton and were without a senior outfield player on the bench.

Owls boss Henrik Pedersen said: “It was generally a strong performance from our side.

“The first 35 minutes was really strong. We were very compact defensively but on the ball we were strong. We had a good intensity on the ball and a good dynamic on the ball.

“I’m generally proud of the performance. How the senior players led the young guys was amazing.”

Wednesday took a step closer to a takeover on Christmas Eve when a consortium led by James Bord was named as the preferred bidder by administrators.

“We have asked the EFL (English Football League) if we can get some loan players but right now it’s a ‘no’,” said Pedersen.

“I don’t know how long that (takeover) process will take but we are all hoping it can go quick because we need players and we need support.”