A late winner from debutant Lewis Koumas sealed a fourth straight win
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
18:21, 31 Jan 2026
Hull City’s Lewis Koumas celebrates scoring with Kyle Joseph
Sergej Jakirovic admits Hull City’s 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers was not one for the purists, saying it hurt his eyes.
Not that it mattered, though, as Lewis Koumas stepped off the bench to slam in the winning goal nine minutes from time to seal a precious three points that moved the Tigers to within five points of top spot with a game in hand.
City were disjointed throughout against Rovers on a poor pitch, but Koumas slotted in beautifully from Kyle Joseph’s pass to score the winner four minutes after coming on.
The result sees City leapfrog Ipswich Town into third, and they know three points against Watford on Tuesday night would see them close the gap to leaders Coventry City to just two points.
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“You will not buy a ticket for this game, my eyes are bleeding, but this is football,” the Tigers boss told Hull Live with his typical humour shining through.
“I was not happy with our possession, especially in the first half, OK, second half we were better. I think that we started very well in the game with some opportunities, maybe a lack of good decision, good last pass, and then we lost this around the middle of the half, then Blackburn started to put pressure there.
“We defended our box very well; that was the main plan because Blackburn is first in the league for crossing. We controlled everything, of course, sometimes they will shoot at the goal. At half-time, we agreed that we had problems in the first half with Ryoya Morishita.
“In the second half, we did that much better. Maybe Blackburn could score some of these two chances, I think, with a header and one shot. Kieran Dowell could have scored with a very nice chance, and Kyle Joseph at the end, he could have finished everything.
“When somebody asks you how you played tomorrow, we won 1-0, and this is the most important thing on this demanding pitch. It’s a very, very tough pitch to play football on.”
Jakirovic also felt Cantwell should have been sent off for a kick on Oli McBurnie in the first half. Referee Thomas Bramall pulled it back for a yellow card after his assistant spotted the incident, which incensed the Tigers man.
“In my country, this is a red card,” he said. “I can say like this. I saw this situation, and you kicked a player from behind without the ball.”
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