Hull City 1 Nottingham Forest 2: Bruce urges Tigers to overcome ‘cruel’ loss and quickly refocus

This was Steve Bruce’s message of defiance to the Hull City squad after seeing his side surrender their happy knack of never having lost a Championship game after taking the lead.

Second-half goals by Darius Henderson and Lewis McGugan did the damage as Nottingham Forest continued their amazing surge up the table with a sixth straight win.

Defeat was harsh on the Tigers, who even after falling behind with five minutes remaining still found enough time to hit the crossbar, have two goalbound efforts cleared off the line and then see Gedo blaze over when it seemed easier to score.

Add in another glaring miss by Gedo during the first half plus efforts by Stephen Quinn, Brady and George Boyd that all went close and it is clear to see why Bruce is in such a defiant mood ahead of a run-in that starts for Hull with a trip to Huddersfield Town on Easter Saturday.

The Tigers manager said: “The players must remain confident that what we are doing is right.

“They didn’t deserve that result at all. Sometimes football is cruel and the Forest game was one of those cruel ones.

“I can hardly remember my goalkeeper having a save to make, but I can remember theirs making save after save. It wasn’t our day, simple as that.

“But we will dust ourselves down over the next couple of weeks and then get ready for the cavalry charge.

“We have eight games in five or six weeks and it will be a big ask. But if we play like we did against Forest, we will be okay.”

Bruce’s sanguine frame of mind was, no doubt, influenced by not only his side’s attacking performance but also one particular result in the south of the county.

Watford’s defeat at Barnsley, the second in a row for Gianfranco Zola’s men, was certainly one not too many outside Oakwell had been expecting and the upshot was Hull maintaining their two-point advantage over the next scheduled visitors to the KC Stadium.

That Easter Tuesday meeting with the Hornets seems certain to be a pivotal one and if the entertainment levels are anywhere near as high as those of the Forest game then the locals are in for a treat.

Certainly, it is difficult to remember a more enthralling contest at the KC this season as both managers sent their team out with the clear intent of steamrollering the opposition.

In Bruce’s case, this meant recalling Robert Koren in place of Alex Bruce as the midfield solidity that had brought a 1-0 win at Burnley on Monday night was sacrificed in the name of more attacking threat.

For much of the afternoon, the switch worked with Hull fashioning no less than 22 efforts on goal. Twelve of those were on target, though only one found the net, Boyd’s hooked shot that looped over Karl Darlow in first-half stoppage time to put the home side ahead.

It had been a sweet moment for Boyd, who after failing a medical with Forest in January due to concerns over his eyesight had been regaled with the chant ‘he’s only got one eye’ from the away seats.

Considering the abuse that had been aimed his way, Boyd milked the moment and even mimicked the wearing of a pair of glasses as he celebrated in front of the travelling fans.

Sadly for the Tigers and Boyd, it proved to be the high point of the afternoon as a second-half fightback by Forest proved enough to clinch victory.

Henderson set the visitors on their way nine minutes after the restart by sweeping in from close range after Simon Cox had headed a searching left-wing cross by Radoslaw Majewski against the crossbar.

Billy Davies’s response to his side having restored parity was to send on another striker in Billy Sharp, a move that showed commendable adventure on the part of the Forest manager.

Such a refreshingly attack minded approach at the home of the team sitting second in the Championship would, ultimately, be rewarded, though only after Quinn had been denied by the legs of goalkeeper Darlow and Brady had curled a free-kick inches wide.

Forest went ahead when Sharp and fellow substitute Dexter Blackstock combined to find McGugan, who fired past David Stockdale in clinical fashion.

Suddenly, Hull’s proud record of never having lost a game under Bruce in which they had taken the lead – a resilience that before Saturday had yielded 18 wins and one draw – was under threat.

The home side duly gave it everything to get back on level terms as Brady fired against the crossbar and Simpson saw his follow-up shot blocked on the line by Chris Cohen.

Henri Lansbury then did the same to a powerful Alex Bruce header that seemed destined for the net before Gedo, who had been guilty of a fresh-air shot in the first half when through on goal, was presented with the sort of chance that the Egyptian has snaffled with ease since joining the Tigers.

In this instance, however, Gedo fluffed his lines and shot over with just Darlow to beat. Hull were beaten, though far from unbowed.

Midfielder David Meyler said: “On another day, all the chances go in and we win 6-0. Obviously the lads are kicking themselves that they didn’t.

“The great thing about football, though, is you move on because there is always another game. You can’t dwell on things.

“We took a hard hit at Bolton but came back against Birmingham. Another beating at Crystal Palace was then followed by a win at Burnley so we can’t be too down.

“We have eight Cup finals to come and we want to win all eight, starting with a huge game against Huddersfield a week on Saturday.”