Preston assistant Stuart McCall believes referee Thomas Bramall was suckered into giving Hull the first of two penalties, paving the way for the Tigers’ 2-1 victory.
McCall conducted post-match media duties for North End after manager Paul Heckingbottom was given a red card following the conclusion of the Sky Bet Championship clash for remonstrating with Bramall.
Lewis Gibson put the Lilywhites ahead but Joe Gelhardt won and converted a penalty after he was adjudged to have been kicked in the face following Mads Frokjaer’s attempted clearance.
While Gelhardt scored what would prove to be the winner from the spot after Stefan Thordarson brought down Kyle Joseph in the area, McCall was aghast that the sides were level by that point.
“It’s nowhere near a penalty,” said McCall, whose side had claims for their own penalty waved away late on following a coming together between Thordarson and Sean McLoughlin.
“(Gelhardt) jumped himself into Mads’ foot which is going for the ball. The second one the referee gets right and I don’t think it’s a penalty on Stef either.
“But the big decision is the first penalty, which gives them all the momentum and the crowd got behind them.”
Preston have lost three in a row while they have been in a rut for some time, with just one win in their past 13 matches, which leaves them just three points above the drop zone with two games left.
There are just six points separating 18th-placed Preston and rock-bottom Plymouth, who visit Deepdale this weekend, with McCall adamant his side now need to give their full focus to the Argyle clash.
“We should be nowhere near the position we are in but the poor results in the last 13 games has put us where we are,” said McCall. “There’s no-one to blame but ourselves about that.
“There’s no excuses, we’ve got to go out there and put in a performance against Plymouth that gets us the result we need to stay in the division, which sounds a crazy thing to say but that’s the reality.”
Defeat for Hull would have put them in the bottom three after relegation rivals Derby and Luton also won on Easter Monday, which means Ruben Selles’ side remain two points above the drop zone in 20th.
The Tigers can guarantee their status in the second tier by beating Derby at the MKM Stadium at the weekend and Selles is relieved their fate remains in their own hands.
“The three points were massive and the way we got them is the way we want to do things,” said Selles. “Even when things didn’t go our way after their goal, our team showed a lot of good things.
“It’s a big opportunity (against Derby) because it’s in our own hands. You are in the business for that kind of moment. This is a big, big game, let’s embrace it and go for it.”
