Brown fumes over key decisions

Hull boss Phil Brown claimed to be bemused after being awarded then denied a late penalty in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

Hull were beaten 1-0 after a drab Barclays Premier League encounter at the KC Stadium burst into life in the final two minutes.

Villa snatched what turned out to be the winner in the 88th minute when Kamil Zayatte turned Ashley Young's cross into his own net.

But there was still time for more drama as referee Steve Bennett pointed to the spot after ruling that Young had handled on his own line in injury-time.

Villa protested and Bennett changed his mind after consulting with his assistant, who correctly had seen the ball hit the bar and not Young's hand.

Brown conceded the "harsh reality" was that the final decision was correct but he was unhappy at the about-turn.

"People will end up talking about the penalty decision which wasn't," said Brown, who got into an argument over the matter with a journalist in his post-match press conference.

"It's beyond me whether it was a penalty or it wasn't - he's given it.

"A referee gives a penalty and then a linesman tells you it's not.

"Some days you get bad days at the office because of referees, other days you get bad days at the office because of players.

"Today was a good day at the office from the players and not so good from the ref."

Brown was at least pleased with the performance of his players after their 5-1 thrashing at Manchester City on Boxing Day.

Brown, who made five changes following their Eastlands humiliation, said: "What is relevant is that is a great performance from Hull City and one I am quite proud of.

"I'm quite pleased with the mentality, quite pleased with the response."