JIMMY SALUTES HITMAN JONNY
JIMMY Floyd Hasselbaink was delighted with his Burton side’s perseverance as they upset the form book and snatched all three points from promotion-chasing Hull City.
Jonny Smith came off the bench to score at the death on his debut and hand Albion a precious win.
While they remain rooted to the foot of League One, Hasselbaink was delighted his side found a winner.
“There are a lot of smiles in the dressing room right now,” said Hasselbaink.
“They worked extremely hard and I have to say it was a well-deserved win.
“Jonny took it really well. We had the biggest chance of the game before with Josh Parker when he missed, but we didn’t dwell on it and we kept on going.
“We found that chance at going into the space and the boy finished it really well.”
Keane Lewis-Potter headed an early Callum Elder cross over the bar as Hull looked to impose themselves on the game.
But they almost went behind shortly afterwards, when a run from Albion debutant Josh
Earl provided Lucas Akins with a chance at the far post, but the winger dragged his shot wide.
Dan Crowley curled an effort wide of a post just before the break, but no attempts on target in the first-half told its own story of the game.
Greg Docherty clipped the top of the crossbar just before the hour mark with a rising 22-yard effort as Hull pressed for an opener.
But then Smith joined the action, replacing Ryan Broom after 63 minutes.
And he made an immediate impact, firing a fierce angled drive that George Long in the Hull goal had to beat away.
But the deadline-day signing from Bristol City did find the winner at the death, when he collected Josh Parker’s cross, before coolly sliding the ball past Long.
Hull boss Grant McCann pulled no punches in his assessment of the game.
“We just weren’t good enough,” he said.
“We lacked any sort of killer instinct about us today. Things were petering out in the final third and we didn’t look like scoring at all.
“The movement wasn’t good enough and the cleverness around the box wasn’t good enough.
“When we did cross the ball, then it got blocked or hit the first man and when we shot it went over the crossbar and that is unlike us because we have been really good at those aspects this season.
“We have come unstuck with not taking any sort of chance that came our way and then getting punished off a mistake.
“Today is not what we have come to expect from this group this year.
“I told them in the dressing room that if you not going to win the game, make sure you don’t lose it, but we switch off from a loose ball from Reece [Burke] and one ball in behind our back four.”
BURTON ALBION: Garratt 6, Brayford 7, Carter 7, Hamer 7, Earl 8, Akins 7, Edwards 6 (Taylor 74, 6), Clare 8, Broom 6 (Smith 63, 8), Parker 8, Hemmings 6 (Powell 46, 7). Subs not used: Barnes, Wallace, Hart, Gallacher.
HULL: Long 6, Coyle 6, Burke 7, Greaves 7, Elder 6, Honeyman 6, Smallwood 5 (Slater 22, 6), Docherty 6, Wilks 5 (Scott 78, 5), Lewis-Potter 6, Crowley 6 (Magennis 72, 6). Subs not used: Flores, Emmanuel, Clark, Ingram.