Jon Dahl Tomasson didn’t think his side deserved to lose against Hull but admits playing most of the game with 10 men eventually took its toll.

Harry Pickering was shown a straight red card during the first half after he was judged to have brought down Liam Delap on the edge of the box.

Sam Gallagher put Rovers in front in the second half but Hull forward Aaron Connolly struck twice in the final 10 minutes to ensure his side would return to Yorkshire with all three points.

“I’m extremely disappointed to lose the game, I don’t think we deserved it,” said Tomasson. “We can’t ask more from our players, playing with 10 men for 80 minutes. An incredible effort.

“We scored a great goal but conceded two unnecessary goals from straight passes. Just before they scored the second, we had one or two free chances and the ball was dancing on the line of the opponent.

“I hate losing but when you hear the fans cheering as you walk off the pitch, even when you have lost, you have done something really good as a team.

“We can’t expect more playing with 10 men for 80 minutes, but we created chances even with 10 men. I think we actually deserved more.”

Tomasson didn’t have any complaints about referee Oliver Langford’s decision to give Pickering his marching orders.

“He mistimed his touch and tried to solve it,” the boss added. “Things go very quickly in football and of course, it was a red card.”

Gallagher and Niall Ennis both had positive impacts off the bench during the final 35 minutes, causing the Hull backline plenty of problems.

“It was good to see Sam get a goal and Niall almost got a goal, he hit the post and there was a scrimmage as well,” Tomasson explained.

“At the end of the day, when you use a sub in the first half you only have two moments left in the second half. I thought (making a double change) was good and they did well.”

Connolly’s 88th-minute winner came moments after Ennis had struck the foot of the post at the other end.

“When you have a chance like that, it hurts,” the boss stated. “We should have done better with that goal because we see the ball travel, we see the run. But it is a good finish.

“When you are playing 10-v-11 for that long, sometimes you will lose sharpness in those moments because you are tired.”