Sergej Jakirovic suggests Hull City can learn from ‘very good experience’ despite Wrexham defeat

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Hull City were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening, as Wrexham left it late to rescue themselves before winning the tie on penalties.

The Tigers looked to be cruising through to round two as goals from Oli McBurnie, Joel Ndala and Matt Crooks saw them lead 3-1 heading into added time.

Elliot Lee had given the home side the lead on the half hour mark, and an hour later, Ollie Palmer pulled one back for the Red Dragons.

Then, just a minute later, he equalised to take the game to a shootout, which ultimately was won by Wrexham. However, Sergej Jakirovic was feeling very reflective after the match had come to its conclusion.

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Sergej Jakirovic explains what went wrong for Hull City in Wrexham defeat

While the Carabao Cup will not be at the top of Jakirovic’s priorities list this season, he will be extremely frustrated to have been knocked out when the Tigers looked to be heading into the next round.

Hull face Oxford United on Sunday afternoon, and their manager has tried to pinpoint what went wrong against Wrexham. He said (via: Hull City): “This is football. It’s never finished until the referee blows the whistle.

“We played a very good game. We controlled everything – had a 3-1 lead. Then, we stopped playing. We had possession but not any more progression in the opponent’s half; we just kept the ball.

“We made two mistakes, especially the first. We didn’t block a very good cross and we lost players in the box, which is crucial. They can score just like this – we knew it before the game from the analysis.

“I’ve never won on penalties, so I knew how it would be – it’s a feeling. The boys gave everything on the pitch. We must look forward. Maybe these situations from today can be put somewhere in our mind. It’s a very good experience for the future.”

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The Tigers should be disappointed with their defeat

Hull controlled large periods of the game, and they saw a lot of the ball compared to their opponents. They were also clinical, scoring three goals from 14 shots and that should have been enough to see them through.

However, for both of Palmer’s goals, they allowed Wrexham too much time on the ball to get a cross in and the striker did not need a second invitation to get on the end of them with two fantastic headers.

Staying focused until the end is vital, especially if Hull are set on being involved in the mid-table scrap rather than a relegation battle.

Nevertheless, this is a learning curve for Jakirovic and his players as they prepare for their first home game of the season against Oxford, with Toby Collyer potentially the next through the door at the MKM Stadium.