Brown blasts penalty decision

Hull manager Phil Brown believes his side was robbed of another Premier League away win after fellow new boys Stoke levelled through a late penalty.

Brown blasted the decision by referee Keith Stroud to award the spot kick in the 73rd minute after Ricardo Fuller tumbled under the challenge of goalkeeper Boaz Myhill.

Fuller converted from 12 yards to cancel out Jamaican team-mate Marlon King’s opener on the stroke of half-time.

“We’ve been robbed by a poor decision, in my opinion,” said Brown, whose side were on course for a fifth away win.

“It wasn’t a spectacle by any stretch of the imagination.

“But we came in 1-0 up – I said the first goal in today’s game would be important and it should have been enough to win it – but we were a little bit undone by a dubious decision.

“It was a very theatrical dive. You have to be 100 per cent right when you make decisions like that and I don’t think you can be in that situation.”

The incident drew a contrasting response from Stoke boss Tony Pulis, however, after his side bucked their trend of losing when going behind this season.

“I have just seen it on the television and he definitely caught his back leg,” said Pulis.

“From one angle it doesn’t look like he is anywhere near it but when they show it from the side angles you could see he definitely caught that back leg.

“If I had seen just one view I would have said it was a debatable one.”

Stoke had lost all seven previous matches in which they had conceded the first goal since promotion but bombarded the Hull penalty area in typical fashion to alter that statistic.

Long-throw expert Rory Delap was once again the centre of attention and the visitors’ desire to disrupt his missile launches included substitute Dean Windass attempting to distract him on the touchline – for which he received the game’s first yellow card.

“That decision astounded me,” said Brown. “Dean Windass was not even on the field of play and received a yellow card.

“And a challenge on Geovanni, which put him off the field of play, doesn’t receive a yellow card. That was phenomenal for me.”

Delap, who was the transgressor in the Geovanni challenge, was repelled time and again by the Yorkshire club’s defence, marshalled superbly by the highly-rated Michael Turner.

“He has been concussed for the last three days and on tablets,” revealed Brown.

“For a 6ft 4ins centre-half to be under that much pressure coming to Stoke is a slight worry of mine but he headed everything today.

“I thought he was fantastic. When you ask about Michael Turner for England, that was an England performance.

“We stood up to everything that was thrown into the box, crash helmets, whatever you want to call it and I was very proud of my defenders today.

“We should have come away with a clean sheet but for a dubious decision.”

Pulis, whose side failed to make it five straight wins on home soil in the league, are nevertheless one point nearer to their target of survival.

“When you go a goal down in the Premier League it is very difficult to come back,” said Pulis.

“I was pleased with the character of the lads in the second half, their effort and commitment was first class.

“In the final third at times we need that little bit more to open teams up.

“But it is a good point, we are building, the transfer window opens in four weeks’ time and we will be trying to do some business.”