The Blues were a goal ahead with less than 10 minutes to go against Hull, but their hopes of a win to break the succession of draws were dashed when referee Lee Probert pointed to the spot.
Jimmy Bullard rammed the penalty past Shay Given to give the Tigers a share of the spoils and take the wind out of City’s sails. The Blues’ Dutch midfielder could not hide his disappointment at the final outcome, and he said:
“There’s a lot of disappointment, we were at home but it’s another draw and from an equaliser around 80 minutes so naturally we are very disappointed. We’re no nearer the top four so we have to sort it out.
“We’re very frustrated. We played well at times today and also in the recent home games, but we have to try to dominate at home and we haven’t, so there’s a lot of frustration around. We’ve just got pick ourselves up again and look forward to the Arsenal game on Wednesday.
I spoke to the referee and he said it was a clear penalty. I was not in a good position so I can’t say, I would have to see it again before I could judge it better.
...Nigel on the penalty decision...
“We’ve got to give more in every part of the side, not just the defence but the midfield and attack as well. It’s a team thing, we just have to worker harder to get to where we want to be.”
The penalty decision that changed the game was questioned by City’s players, but de Jong has ruefully accepted it as a sign of the Blues’ luck at the moment.
“The confidence is there,” he continued, “we have to keep that as high as we can especially at home. But the referee gave a penalty today and that’s the kind of situation we are in right now. But we have not got the luck on our side at the moment. This kind of result is hard to take, but we have to be positive and keep looking ahead.
“I spoke to the referee and he said it was a clear penalty. I was not in a good position so I can’t say, I would have to see it again before I could judge it better.”
