Bristol City draw ‘feels like a defeat’ for Hull boss Grant McCann

Hull head coach Grant McCann was “gutted” his side conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in the 2-2 draw at home to Bristol City.

With the game evenly poised, George Honeyman’s 79th-minute goal looked to have sealed a fifth victory in six Sky Bet Championship games.

But Matty James had other ideas with a late leveller from outside the penalty box.

McCann said: “I’m a bit disappointed with the result. It was a good response from us after conceding in the second half to get the second goal, but it almost feels like a defeat, if truth be told.

“We have to understand where we are at this present time.

“It’s been a good response from the group over the last seven games, but we’re just disappointed with that goal right at the death.

“I’m gutted and the players are gutted. We’re disappointed not to win it, but it’s probably a fair result.

“Six unbeaten. It’s been a monumental effort from everybody.”

Hull were the better side in the first half and charged into the lead with a crisp Ryan Longman curling finish after three minutes.

There was a distinct shift in momentum after the restart, though, when Bristol City kicked on from an offensive perspective.

And once Antoine Semenyo equalised following defensive uncertainty after 53 minutes, the game could have gone either way.

Honeyman regained Hull’s lead with an instinctive finish, but Bristol City remained dangerous on the counter-attack.

That was underscored in stoppage time when James earned his side a point with a neat half-volley from outside the penalty area.

Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson was unimpressed by his side’s lack of concentration where it mattered the most.

He said: “It was good to get a point. We’ve come away with something, but it was a frustrating day.

“We’ve scored two goals away from home and we’ve not won – so it is what it is.

“We made simple mistakes which were very, very frustrating for us.

“I know having younger players that’s always going to be the case, but we need to be more efficient.

“The game was there for us, so those things remain very, very frustrating.”

Pearson added: “I know that the players are getting frustrated at times and making poor decisions.

“But there are positives. We worked hard and it was a tough game, but the players have to try to find inner strength.

“We tend to be our own worst enemy in terms of making individual errors, though, and that seems to be something we need to look at. We struggle to do the simple things well at times.

“We just needed to be a little more dominant in terms of our outlook on the game.

“I don’t think they caused us too many problems, but there were some good things.

“It’s a work in progress, for sure.”