Darren Moore defended Huddersfield’s cautious approach after Hull left it late to win 1-0 at the MKM Stadium.
Town rarely threatened inside the final third and were seemingly content to leave East Yorkshire with a point.
But their gameplan backfired in stoppage time when Liam Delap scored the winning goal two minutes in.
Moore, whose side are one place above the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone, said: “There’s always an emotional element to a result and I can understand that.
“You have to strike the balance right and we are working towards that.
“But as a group we were working extremely hard to correct those wrongs to make them right.
“We created two or three half-opportunities on counter-attacks.
“When the chances came our way, could we have used the ball more effectively and get bodies up the pitch?
“I thought we did that really well; it was just that the opportunities that we created just didn’t come our way.”
Huddersfield at least defensively improved upon their last two away games, in which they conceded a total of eight goals.
They also had Hull at arm’s length for most of the game – even though the hosts dominated possession.
The Tigers might have lacked attacking nous, but the mood inside the stadium changed once Delap struck the crossbar after 81 minutes.
Hull then scored the goal their efforts deserved when Delap’s low strike hit the inside of the right post and squirmed into the net.
Moore, whose side have won just once in 10 games, said: “It’s a tough one to swallow in terms of going that long into the game (without conceding).
“In terms of the performance, it was another team performance in the right direction.
“As a group we are looking at the positives – you have to look at the overall performance.
“We have to accept what’s happened and move forward.
“The gameplan was to nullify them in spaces we know they can hit you on the break – I thought we did that on the balance of the game.
“I thought apart from a couple of incidents, we limited to them to long-range efforts.”
Counterpart Liam Rosenior was adamant Hull were good value for the victory – even if it was achieved so late in the game.
He said: “I’m really proud because sometimes teams can lose faith in what they are doing.
“This method of (possession-based) play ties the opposition up – I think we had about 80 per cent of the ball – and, normally, chances to come towards the end of the game.
‘I think from minute one to minute 100 we showed our quality and were dominant all game.
“My team, with his group of players, have not lost two games in a row. They are learning as they go which is exciting for me.
“There wasn’t anyone in the stadium who would argue we didn’t deserve three points.”
Hull struggled at home earlier in the season, but they have now won back-to-back games at the MKM Stadium and are only outside the top six on goal difference.
Rosenior added: “Liam got his just rewards – he probably could have scored three or four.
“I’m very proud of the group, but I just want to see more goals. The intent is there – I think everyone can see that.
“But when you have that much control you can be a little bit more risky and make positive changes.
“Fair play to Darren. His side were so resilient and difficult to break down and, in time, he will get the results the club needs.
“For us to break them down in the manner that we did gives us a lot of confidence.”
West Brom 0-0 Southampton: Hawthorns draw sets up intriguing second leg
West Brom and Southampton played out a goalless draw at the Hawthorns on Sunday in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
Both teams had plenty of chances, but a combination of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from the Saints' Alex McCarthy and the Baggies' Alex Palmer ensured the tie remains finely poised for the return leg at St Mary's Stadium on Friday.
Roared on by a loud Hawthorns, the hosts started well but were unable to capitalise, and it was Southampton who went closest in the first half as Kyle Walker-Peters smashed a deflected effort wide, while Palmer kept out Flynn Downes' shot.
West Brom rallied, though, and had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 33 minutes on the clock as Grady Diangana nodded Tom Fellows' cross goalwards, only for McCarthy to get across and make a brilliant stop.
The tempo slowed somewhat after the interval, but the game burst into life again with just over 10 minutes to play, as McCarthy denied Diangana before substitute Ross Stewart lashed goalwards up the other end, only to see his shot somehow kept out by the wrong-footed Palmer.
Both sides pressed for a precious goal late on, but neither could break the deadlock and it remains all to play for at St Mary's to see who will face either Leeds United or Norwich City at Wembley on May 26.
Data debrief
There was certainly attacking endeavour on display at the Hawthorns, but neither side could find the back of the net despite the teams combining for 1.76 xG (expected goals), split 1.03 for Southampton and 0.73 for the hosts.
With Norwich and Leeds drawing 0-0 in their first leg earlier on Sunday, it is the first time since 2011 that the first leg of both Championship play-off semi-finals have ended goalless.
West Brom 0-0 Southampton: Hawthorns stalemate sets up intriguing second-leg
West Brom and Southampton played out a 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns on Sunday in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
Both teams had plenty of chances, but a combination of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from the Saints' Alex McCarthy and the Baggies' Alex Palmer ensured the tie remains finely poised for the return leg at St Mary's Stadium on Friday.
Roared on by a loud Hawthorns, the hosts started well but were unable to capitalise, and it was Southampton who went closest in the first half an hour after weathering the early storm as Kyle Walker-Peters smashed a deflected effort wide, while Palmer kept out Flynn Downes' shot.
West Brom rallied, though, and had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 33 minutes on the clock as Grady Diangana nodded Tom Fellows' cross goalwards, only for McCarthy to get across and make a brilliant stop.
The tempo slowed somewhat after the interval, but the game burst into life again with just over 10 minutes to play, as McCarthy denied Diangana before substitute Ross Stewart lashed goalwards up the other end, only to see his shot somehow kept out by the wrong-footed Palmer.
Both sides pressed for a precious goal late on, but neither could break the deadlock and it remains all to play for at St Mary's on Friday to see who will face either Leeds United or Norwich City at Wembley on May 26 in the Championship play-off final.
Data debrief
There was certainly attacking endeavour on display at the Hawthorns, but neither side could find the back of the net despite the teams combining for 1.76 xG (expected goals), split 1.03 for Southampton and 0.73 for the hosts.
With Norwich and Leeds drawing 0-0 in their first leg earlier on Sunday, it is the first time since 2011 that the first leg of both Championship play-off semi-finals have ended goalless.
Farke left fuming after Leeds disallowed goal
Daniel Farke was left fuming after Leeds United had a goal disallowed in their play-off semi-final first leg at Norwich on Sunday.
The game at Carrow Road ultimately ended 0-0, with both sides failing to seriously trouble the opposition goalkeeper as the teams combined for just 0.8 xG (expected goals).
It leaves the tie finely poised ahead of Thursday's second leg at Elland Road, but despite his side heading back to home turf with a clean sheet and level in the tie, Farke was left frustrated by a first-half incident which saw Junior Firpo put the ball in the net following a mix-up between Shane Duffy and Angus Gunn, only for the offside flag to be raised.
Farke believes the goal should have stood and bemoaned decisions that have gone against his side this season, telling reporters: "I can just recommend everyone should have a look on the scouting feed, it's not offside.
"I'm annoyed. I have to make sure I'm not too much in a rage. Small details make a difference, if you go in the lead it changes the picture. In the end, everyone speaks about Wembley, a £100m game. At this level, all the decisions have to be spot on.
"Perhaps [the linesman] was a bit scared the whole stadium is moaning if he doesn’t give offside. No, in doubt you give it in favour to the attacker. It's definitely not offside.
"If you want to be in charge of such a game you have to be spot on. I have 12 letters apologising already this season. We have to make sure we find a way even though this crucial decision went against us."
Despite his annoyance at the disallowed goal, Farke remained content with his side's display as they bounced back from a challenging end to the regular season with a clean sheet.
"When you play a play-off semi-final with two legs, an away draw and a clean sheet at a difficult ground is always a good and solid result," Farke continued.
"The last games in the regular season were not great, we conceded too many goals and in away games especially. We wanted to be rock solid today against the ball.
"Overall I have to say I'm pretty happy. We have a massive game on Thursday evening. It's just half-time."
Though David Wagner's Norwich side now face the daunting task of a trip to Elland Road, the Canaries boss feels his players are capable of overcoming the raucous home atmosphere to reach the final at Wembley.
Wagner is also looking to draw upon his experiences during his time at Huddersfield, where his Terriers team beat Sheffield Wednesday on penalties at Hillsborough before going on to win another shoot-out at Wembley against Reading to clinch Premier League promotion.
"Every single second we are in the game at Elland Road, it is a minute in our favour," Wagner stated at his post-match news conference.
"I said beforehand we are the underdogs. The expectation is on Leeds. We know this.
"I have experienced being the away team in the play-offs."
Norwich captain Kenny McLean echoed his manager's belief that the Canaries can go and win at Elland Road, telling Sky Sports: "We know how good Leeds can be at home and they'll fancy their chances, but we’re a very good team as well."
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