Doncaster v Hull City reaction

Steve Bruce argued the outcome hinged on two refereeing decisions as Hull blew a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Doncaster in the Capital One Cup.

City went ahead with a fine goal from Aaron McLean in the first minute at the Keepmoat on Tuesday night and made it 2-0 when Jay Simpson volleyed home from close range after Tom Cairney had hit the bar. Doncaster were left chasing shadows as Hull passed the ball around confidently but they hit back with a goal out of the blue in the 30th minute when makeshift striker David Syers hammered home from 25 yards. The first incident referred to by Bruce took place in the 33rd minute when Cairney was hurt by a crunching challenge by teenager James Husband. Husband was not cautioned by the referee but Cairney had to be substituted four minutes later and Bruce said: "I thought it was a horror tackle and I can't believe the lad wasn't even booked. "It's a knee injury and he could be out for some time. "Then we had a man (Paul McKenna) sent off in the second half. I don't have any complaints about that actually but if the two decisions had been reversed, and their player had been sent off and ours had stayed on, it might have been a different outcome." Doncaster stepped up the pace in the second half as Hull took their foot off the gas and Rob Jones equalised in the 57th minute with a glancing header from James Coppinger's cross. The sending-off came in the 79th minute when substitute McKenna aimed a kick at Jones off the ball and left the referee with no alternative. Doncaster cashed in on their extra man when Syers slid in to volley home at the far post in stoppage time after latching on to Coppinger's right-wing cross. Doncaster manager Dean Saunders defended Husband later, saying: "I played against Steve Bruce and believe me, that wasn't a horror tackle." He added "It was an unbelievable game, the way we managed to turn it on its head. "We conceded a terrible first goal and then they reacted first from a free-kick, which is something we work on. "I was thinking about how to keep the score down when we were 2-0 down but we fought our way back with a great goal which gave us some belief. "It still could have gone either way but we showed great determination and belief and I'm really pleased with the players. "We had several players out injured and fielded a patched-up team but they were magnificent and it's a testament to our fitness that Syers raced the length of the pitch to score the winner at the end." Bruce added: "It was a great cup tie but it went the wrong way for us. "For 35 or 40 minutes in the first half, they never had a kick of the ball and then they go and score a wonder goal. "I was delighted in the first half with the way we played but we couldn't sustain it and we seemed to tire badly because there were a few weary limbs out there. "In all fairness to Doncaster, they stuck at it and got their rewards in the end."