Sergej Jakirović (foto: uradna spletna stran kluba)
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirović urged his team to stay positive after a 2-1 defeat to Derby, praising their form and effort over the past eight matches.
Hull City suffered their first defeat in six league games, losing 2-1 to Derby County in the Championship, but coach Sergej Jakirović says his team have no reason to lose confidence.
The Croatian manager was satisfied with his side’s overall performance, despite two costly defensive errors.
“It’s always frustrating to lose,” said Jakirović. “We played really well in the second half, controlled the game, and scored a nice goal. Unfortunately, we made two mistakes and were punished with two goals — especially the second one, which was an easy situation. These things happen, but we have to keep going because we’ve played really well in the last eight games.”
‘We didn’t give up after going behind’
Hull went into half-time trailing 1-0, but Jakirović praised his players for their response after the break.
“In the first half, we didn’t create much. Crooks had a great shot that hit the bar. We made a mistake from a set piece and they scored, but we didn’t give up,” he explained.
“They tried to press us in the second half. We lacked a bit of mobility, especially on the ball, but good movement led to our equaliser. Slater made a smart run, received the pass, and played it through. Joel was there — I’m happy for him, it was his first senior goal.”
Looking ahead to Portsmouth
Hull will look to bounce back this weekend when they host Portsmouth.
“We’re playing well, we know each other better every week, and we’ll go for all three points on Saturday,” added Jakirović.