SERGEJ JAKIROVIC was pleased with the improved efforts of his Hull City side as they claimed a point from a 1-1 home draw against Brentford.

The Tigers had some atoning to do for last weekend’s loss to Fulham, and a 24th-minute Oli McBurnie penalty put them ahead before Dango Ouattara found an equaliser for the visitors after 63 minutes.

Though it was one point rather than three and Hull are awaiting a first victory since their defeat of Coventry on August 29, Jakirovic still felt his team had produced far more than they did at Craven Cottage.

“I think we played a good game, especially in the first half,” he said.

points dropped: Brentford’s Dango Ouattara scores his side’s equaliser, beating Hull City goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis at MKM Stadium. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA.

placeholder image — points dropped: Brentford’s Dango Ouattara scores his side’s equaliser, beating Hull City goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis at MKM Stadium. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA.

“We were much more aggressive in duels, we won a lot of first and second balls.

“Maybe there were some cheap mistakes, bad passing, bad receiving, but you see how fast they are – in five seconds they were in our box.

“We should have scored one or maybe two more with better decisions.

“In the second half, at around 60 minutes, we lost a little bit of control and they were better, but this is Brentford and they take more risks.

EVEN-HANDED: Hull City's Mohamed-Ali Cho (left) and Brentford's Mathias Jensen battle for the ball at MKM Stadium, Kingston upon Hull. Picture: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA.

“I can regret the chance we had through Mohamed-Ali Cho and (Joe) Gelhardt, maybe it should have been 2-1, but in the end I think it’s a fair result.”

The opening goal came courtesy of an 24th-minute McBurnie penalty, awarded when Aaron Hickey hooked his leg through Tim Iroegbunam’s to flatten him inside the area.

McBurnie picked out the bottom right of the net and though Brentford’s Caoimhin Kelleher guessed right, he could not get in the way of his opponent’s first Premier League goal for over 900 days.

After the break Hull were left to rue some inattentive defending as Igor Thiago found his way to Ouattara, who slotted the ball home under very little pressure at all to make it 1-1 in the 63rd minute.

POINT PROVED: Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic looks on during Sunday's Premier League clash with Brentford at MKM Stadium. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA.

Jaidon Anthony pushed for another Brentford goal and saw an initial shot land just wide before a second chance forced a save from Konstantinos Tzolakis, but there was a quick counter as Mohamed Belloumi raced in the other direction before firing over the bar at a distance. An 88th-minute chance was Hull’s last to find the winning goal, but Mohamed Ali-Cho’s cross to Joe Gelhardt resulted in an off-target shot that ensured the Tigers took no more than a point as their wait for a win continues.

Both clubs were required to pick through the detritus of the pre-match display in the opening minutes as balloons and litter were carried by the strong winds of Storm Boelo onto the pitch.

The first substantial chance was for the Bees, with City faltering in midfield after 11 minutes and allowing Hickey to unleash a shot on goal that was comfortably managed by Tzolakis. Ten minutes later it was Belloumi who loomed and found McBurnie inside the box, but as the Scot was preparing to strike, Brentford’s Mathias Jensen rushed forward to foil the attempt.

After 22 minutes the visitors gifted their hosts a golden chance when Hickey, having failed to collect a ball from Kelleher, lunged at the legs of Iroegbunam and floored him to give away a penalty.

McBurnie stepped up and made no mistake, finding the bottom right of the net and putting the ball beyond Kelleher despite the goalkeeper leaping in the correct direction.

After the break Brentford broke through, and in the 63rd minute it was Ouattara who made the most of lax Hull defending to collect a Thiago ball and tap home.

Belloumi then reacted with a sprint towards the Brentford goal with substitute Cho in pursuit as back up, but the long-range shot was too high and flew into the stand. The final roll of the dice was Cho’s cross in to Gelhardt, but he was wide of the mark and the whistle blew on a 1-1 verdict in East Yorkshire.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews said: “With how we defended, we were tentative at times and not as aggressive on occasions as we usually are but the opposition play a part in that and they were pretty good on that front. We lacked a bit of cohesion at times in how we played, we’ve got very good players and good players on the bench and I think it’s important that when they come on they realise that they have to impact the game.”

Hull City: Tzolakis, Coyle (Norton-Cuffy 65), Ajayi, Egan, Herrington, Giles (Cho 65), Belloumi (Gelhardt 86), Iroegbunam (Morita 72), Slater, Stroud, McBurnie (Vaz 86). Unused substitutes: Phillips, Thomas, McNair, Crooks.

Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, van den Berg, Ajer, Lewis-Potter (Diouf 78), Sangare, Hickey (Damsgaard 62), Ouattara (Wilson 78), Jensen, Schade (Anthony 62), Thiago. Unused substitutes: Valdimarsson, Collins, Nunes Gomes, Schuster, Fredrick.

Referee: R Jones (Merseyside).