Hull City 2 Chelsea 3: Play like that and we’ll be fine, says Bruce

The Tigers were left heartbroken by a 77th-minute winner from Loic Remy that restored Chelsea’s six-point advantage at the summit.

After coming from two goals down to level the contest in a quite remarkable first half and then seeing Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois pull off a stunning triple save after the break, the 3-2 defeat was harsh on Hull.

Bruce, however, believes his side can take great solace from their performance when the top flight resumes on Easter Saturday with a trip to Swansea City.

The Hull chief said: “That is as good as we have played for a long, long time. Maybe the best under me in the Premier League, especially as we were up against the best team in England.

“We are obviously disappointed to lose the game because I don’t think we deserved that.

“The big turning point in the game was the three opportunities where Courtois pulls off three saves. That changed the course of the game. But I think we proved we are ready for the challenge. To be fair, we have seen that over the last few weeks.

“We had an awful couple of months in winter time, but just lately we have seen a bit of resilience come back into the team.

“I thought that was as good a display from us for a long time. We gave Chelsea a hell of a run for their money and, on another day, it could have gone our way.”

Hull’s disappointment at ending yesterday’s game empty-handed was eased slightly by the news of Queens Park Rangers’ 2-1 defeat at home to Everton.

It meant that every one of the bottom six clubs had lost over the weekend, leaving the Tigers still three points clear of the relegation zone. With a goal difference that is vastly superior to the five teams below them, that gap is effectively four points with eight games to play.

A run-in that includes home games against Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United still carries an air of danger, but the Hull manager is adamant that yesterday’s showing will stand his players in good stead.

Bruce added: “We have gone 2-0 down from two wonder goals. When you pay £60m (the combined price of scorers Eden Hazard and Diego Costa), I suppose they are capable of doing that.

“We needed a response and a little change in formation helped us. We created umpteen opportunities, but we just couldn’t get ahead.

“As for the winner (by Remy), when the ball doesn’t even reach the net then of course you are disappointed. Allan (McGregor, Tigers’ goalkeeper) is disappointed. He looks as if he has been wrong-footed.

“We are disappointed with an awful goal to concede. We didn’t deserve that after the two wonder goals. But you have to take the positives and I think if we keep performing like that we will be fine.”

Hull travel to Swansea on Easter Saturday and then Southampton a week later. With Liverpool potentially involved in a FA Cup semi-final on April 18, the Tigers may have three consecutive away games with a trip to Crystal Palace scheduled for the final Saturday of the month.

That would be far from ideal, though the flipside is that three of the club’s last four fixtures are at home in May even before any possible rearrangement of the Liverpool game at the KC.

Bruce added: “Everyone is talking about our run-in but, in my experience, it doesn’t matter if you are playing teams at the top or the bottom; they are tough either way.

“When you get to the squeaky time, you need your performances to stack up. Touch wood, we have got a couple of players coming back from injury.

“We are without Nikica Jelavic (for a minimum six weeks), but with Hernandez, N’Doye and Ramirez we still looked a threat going forward; for a long time over the winter we were without that threat.

“I am sure we’ve got enough and I’m convinced if we play like we did against Chelsea, we are good enough to stay in this division.”

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, was clearly frustrated with how his side allowed Hull back into the game. He headed down the tunnel while play was still going on ahead of the interval.

Asked if the leaders had been guilty of complacency once two goals ahead inside 10 minutes, Mourinho replied: “No, it was mistakes.

“If you tell our goalkeeper every time he has a back pass to kick the ball to the stands, the second goal (by Hernandez) doesn’t come.

“But we don’t say that. He (Courtois) tried to play, lost the rebound and the defenders didn’t open a passing line to play from the back. So, goal.

“Everyone was unhappy, obviously. I am probably the first one. But if you go to half-time at 0-0 and playing bad, not creating with no confidence then you are really worried.

“But, if you go in 2-2, playing so well for 20 to 25 minutes then it is just a question of stability, emotional control.

“In the second half, it was a difficult situation in counter-attack. Thibaut had to make these three saves in a few seconds, it was isolated action.

“We tried everything and I think we deserved the win.”

Match report: Page 4.