Hull City 0 Southampton 1: Tigers unable to atone for Jakupovic clanger

“That is the life of a goalkeeper,” shrugged the Tigers’ manager, having witnessed his third-choice Eldin Jakupovic produce a glaring mis-kick that ultimately led to his side’s demise.

The man in question had waited more than two years for his first home appearance in Hull colours, but the Swiss must have wished he was back warming the bench after making a hash of Robbie Brady’s admittedly inconvenient back-pass after just two minutes of Saturday’s game.

As many of his colleagues attested afterwards, it was not the worst clearance you will see but, still, it offered Victor Wanyama a chance which the Kenyan duly took with aplomb.

Southampton’s defensive midfielder showed genuine class to strike the loose ball first time from 45 yards and beat Jackupovic, who was stranded near the left side of his penalty area.

“If you make a mistake there, you usually get punished and you want your mates to pull you out of the mire,” said Bruce.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that.

“Eldin’s fine. How many times it goes a yard either side of him and it doesn’t end up in the back of your net?

“He was put under pressure on his left foot and the back-pass rule was made for that. He’s made a mistake. It’s as simple as that.

“He has to get over it. Life of a goalkeeper. He did okay after that but it was a wonder goal for them and crazy goal for us.”

The unfortunate 30-year-old was making only his ninth Tigers appearance since joining from Aris Salonkia, given both Allan McGregor and Steve Harper are injured.

That said, Jackupovic did eventually recover and ensured there was no further damage inflicted by a Southampton side which, while not showing as much of the attacking flair that has seen them surge surprisingly into second place this season, certainly demonstrated their adroitness in the art of defending.

Ronald Koeman’s side have the best such record throughout all top four divisions in England and have gone more than six hours without conceding.

For all Hull battled to generate some momentum, the efficient visitors were rarely at unease.

Roy Hodgson was a guest of Hull owner Assem Allam, but the England manager will have departed far more impressed by the athletic showing of Saints right-back Nathaniel Clyne than any of the home players hoping to shine.

To their credit, the Tigers did not capitulate after that horrendous early mistake.

Rather, they produced some sharp interplay with Haten Ben Arfa, Mohamed Diame and Brady all making positive contributions but, when it came to the vital act, Southampton seemed always to negate them effortlessly.

Bruce, whose son Alex was a late withdrawal after tweaking a hamstring on the eve of the game, said: “It was two good teams in the first half and end to end but in the second we became fragmented and chased the game.

“We lost our discipline and all sorts of sense of shape. It was a difficult afternoon.”

To admit that is no crime given Southampton’s unexpected renaissance under their Dutch manager, who has overseen 10 wins in the last 11 games.

Given the glut of high-profile stars who departed in the summer, many expected them to be struggling below the 13th-placed Tigers.

Bruce accepted his opponents’ superior class – “let’s hope they stay up there; there’s no reason they can’t, if they can stay injury-free” – but must quickly address his own side’s problems.

He insists those issues are not unmanageable despite a run of just two wins in 10 outings, a concerning record that has perhaps gone unnoticed given draws at Arsenal and Liverpool latterly.

Regardless, Saturday’s trip to a Burnley side still yet to win following promotion back to the elite is suddenly crucial.

“They’re all big but the huge wins in the Premier League are against the teams around you,” Bruce offered. “We did particularly well against the teams around us last year. Let’s hope we can do the same again. We knew it was a difficult October and it’s a difficult November, too.

“The margins are so narrow. For us, unfortunately, what’s marred a really good start is this individual error which you can’t really account for.”

The life of a goalkeeper again.

Hull City: Jakupovic; Chester, Davies, McShane (Aluko 65); Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Diame, Brady (Quinn 81); Ben Arfa (Robertson 73), Hernandez. Unused substitutes: Watson, Rosenoir, Meyler, Maguire.

Southampton: Forster; Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand; Schneiderlin, Wanyama, Davis; Tadic (Cork 81), Long (Mane 62), Pelle. Unused substitutes: Yoshida, Gardos, Mayuka, Reed.

Referee: M Atkinson (Bradford).