Liam Rosenior praised the “fantastic finishing” of Aaron Connolly after his late double saw Hull come from behind to defeat 10-man Blackburn 2-1.
Hull were in control from the outset and tightened their grip when Harry Pickering received a 17th-minute red card for bringing Liam Delap down when clean through.
But the resilient Blackburn team took the lead through Sam Gallagher’s emphatic finish in the 74th minute, setting up a frantic ending to the game, which saw substitute Connolly give the Tigers a taste of the clinical finishing they can expect more of after signing the striker on a permenant basis this summer.
He equalised with a first-time volley in the 81st minute before again timing his run to perfection with two minutes remaining to stroke home a winner and give Hull a first league win at Ewood Park since February 2016.
Rosenior was delighted with all his attackers, and how Connolly stretched a tiring Blackburn defence.
The Hull boss said: “Aaron’s finish, he’s got that ability in training. He just takes things really early. He took both goals so early so the goalkeeper couldn’t get set and now he’s got three in two.
“We wore them down. If you watch the game back, we made, I don’t know how many, 600 passes. It’s hard with 10 men to defend against 600 passes. It’s no coincidence we score the two goals in the last 10 minutes, because the players stuck to the plan.
“Aaron gets the plaudits, two fantastic finishes. I’ve got Liam Delap who I thought played really well, he can hold the ball up, he can twist, turn and combine. I’ve got Oscar (Estupinan) who is your typical target man, good technically, can hold the ball up.
“Why I really like Aaron in this group is because he stretches teams, runs in behind. That’s what the two goals come from and all of a sudden, Blackburn were used to having Liam stuck in front of them and then you’ve got Aaron on running in behind them and it took them by surprise. Fortunately for us, it worked.”
Jon Dahl Tomasson was pleased with Blackburn’s effort, despite seeing their unbeaten start to the season end.
They could have been celebrating a famous victory only for Niall Ennis to strike a post and see a header cleared off the line by Lewie Coyle, in between Matt Ingram saving from Gallagher, all whilst the score was 1-1.
He said: “Extremely disappointed to lose the game. I don’t think we deserved it actually. We can’t ask more from our players, playing with 10 men for more than 80 minutes. Incredible effort.
“We scored a great goal, but conceded two unnecessary goals, straight passes. But just before they scored the second, we had one, two, three chances. The ball was dancing on the line of the opponent.
“It’s always good to see when you lose the game – I hate losing – but when you lose a game and you go off the pitch, and you hear the fans cheering, then you have done something really, really good as a team.
“We can’t expect more playing 80 minutes with 10 men but we created chances even with 10 men, so I think actually we deserved more.
“I think today was a brilliant effort. You can see a team who’s fighting for each other. Great spirit, playing good football, and creating big chances.”
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
Erik ten Hag: Man United fans are understanding of situation
Erik ten Hag is confident he still has the understanding of supporters after Manchester United's poor run of form continued with defeat to Arsenal.
United were beaten 1-0 by Premier League title chasers Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday in a game that saw them create little.
While United did well to restrict Arsenal's chances, they had just two shots on target themselves - long-rangers from Casemiro and Antony.
The Red Devils have had to contend with a number of injury problems this season, not least against Arsenal with a makeshift defence fielded.
And for that reason, Ten Hag - whose job beyond this season has been called into question - believes the fanbase remain supportive.
"They understand where we are and where this club is," he told Sky Sports. "We have so many injuries in key areas.
"The fans don't get what they deserve, but they understand this and that is why they are behind the team.
"I think that is why they are with us we are united. Hopefully we can pay them back in the future."
Ten Hag pointed out that United were without seven possible starters, forcing him to field veteran Jonny Evans alongside Casemiro at centre-back.
Casemiro was at fault for Arsenal's goal as he was slow getting back up the field, meaning Havertz was onside before teeing up Trossard.
Ten Hag, though, was not willing to point the finger of blame at the underperforming midfielder.
"In that situation he is a midfielder playing in that position and making a small mistake, but it has hard consequences," he said.
"Before that, in possession we could have done better in others positions. It's details."
Eighth-placed United have won just one of their past eight league matches in a run that includes a 4-0 thumping at Crystal Palace earlier in the week.
The Red Devils have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, which is their most since 1977-78 when also losing 19.
Asked if he believes he is the man to turn things around, Ten Hag said: "I have no doubt about this.
"Mostly, this team has the right spirit and they execute the rules and principles of the game even if they have to adapt in their positions.
"I can only be happy and it is a big compliment for this team that they executed all that they could and they were fighting."
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.
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