Alan key to victory as the Tigers’ poor run rumbles on
the corner of the net three minutes from time Bournemouth’s mad afternoon was complete.
Howe said: “It was so difficult for the players. A three-goal swing against us was too much. Once the second decision happened we fell apart a bit mentally.
“Up until that point we’d been the better team. We didn’t recover from that moment.
“The double whammy from our perspective is they went and scored. The only positive is that we have to use this as extra fuel.
“We have to create a siege mentality that everyone is against us if we want to stay in the division. In the end Mike Dean didn’t give the decisions. I don’t blame him for that. It’s the process of VAR.
“I was originally against VAR. We had people making decisions who were nowhere near Burnley.”
It had all appeared to be going well for a side demolished 4-0 at Turf Moor last season, and who had lost their last four away Premier League games, when King burst on to Philip Billing’s flick-on from Andrew Surman’s corner to hammer home.
But a VAR check commenced as Bournemouth celebrated. To the visitors’ horror it was adjudged that the ball had struck an unsuspecting Billing on the top of the arm, although there had been no Burnley complaints.
Within 60 seconds the unlucky King recovered from the setback to cross to an unmarked Wilson at the far post.
The Liverpool loanee’s diving header prompted another brilliant reflex save from Pope, who had already denied Callum Wilson during the visitors’ quick start.
Last week against Southampton Vydra ended a run of 511 days without a goal. And he wasn’t prepared to stop there as he pounced on a through ball from McNeill in the 53rd minute to weave into the area and finish.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche said: “He has had to wait for his chance. He has now delivered twice.
“It was a strange day for VAR. That’s as tough as it gets especially when it awarded us the penalty. I don’t think something like that will happen too often.”
Thank goodness for that, as the emotion and passion was sucked out of this game. Any doubters should refer themselves to a Mr Howe of Bournemouth.
TWO goals in four torrid minutes from Paul Gallagher and Alan Browne kept Preston’s top-six hopes on course.
Alex Neil’s men came out of the traps like men possessed after the break, having been outfought by Hull for long stretches of the first half.
Mallik Wilks had shocked North End when he headed the visitors into a lead minutes before the break with his third goal in four games.
The Lilywhites were denied a penalty when sub Browne went down to a strong challenge.
But referee Stephen Martin pointed to the spot when Darnell Fisher was sandwiched by Hull’s central defenders.
Skipper Gallagher coolly blasted the penalty past Tigers keeper George Long, who had no chance.
And four minutes later, Browne and fellow sub Jayden Stockley combined to carve out the winner – a goal described as being “sensational” by his manager.
Neil said: “Browne’s goal is just what I want from him – running the channels, getting in there and getting goals. The move for that strike was quality.
“Now we play at West Brom and Fulham next week. We’re looking forward to it and we know that top sides don’t like playing against us.
“We needed to show more bravery and more risk-taking than in the first half, and that’s what they did.
“At half-time I told them that if you play well enough, often enough, the results will come.
“To be honest, I thought it was a penalty when Brownie went down but I’m not so sure that Darnell’s was. Maybe the ref had the first decision in his mind to then give the second call.”
Hull manager Grant McCann had no doubt that the penalty was soft. He said: “The first goal by them was a mistake by the ref.
“Fisher went down very easily. I think he actually fell.
“The ref got sucked in and gave it after turning down a call a minute earlier.
“Their second goal was avoidable and should have been defended by us. “We are on a bad run but we are close to coming back. Wilks is a good player and his three goals prove that.”
But the winger, who is on loan from Barnsley, won’t be able to face his parent club on Wednesday.
He topped a great first half by heading home a Callum Elder cross, which was due reward for his non-stop efforts.
Much of the first-half menace came from Hull, perhaps surprisingly since they started out with the record of only one win in their last eight games. Wilks got in the thick of it three times before scoring Hull’s breakthrough strike.
But their lead was snatched from them before Browne settled the match.