Brown: Win was deserved

Hull City boss Phil Brown claimed the Tigers were well worth their 3-2 victory over Everton despite coming close to throwing away two points.

The Tigers were 3-0 up at half-time on Wednesday night thanks to goals from Stephen Hunt, Andy Dawson and Dean Marney.

However, they made it difficult for themselves in the second half after Kamil Zayatte first scored a freak own goal then conceded a penalty, which Louis Saha coolly converted.

"I think it was a deserved win, even though Everton scored two goals in the second half," said Brown.

"People might have been nervous at 3-2 but I wasn't unduly worried, I thought we still had a grip on the game.

"Defensively we were very good in the first half. The second half was a different ball game and an own goal unhinges you to a certain extent.

"But we stuck at the task and thoroughly deserved the victory."

Meanwhile, Brown has played down the significance of Jimmy Bullard's absence after denying suggestions that the injury-plagued midfielder had suffered another setback in his recovery from a knee problem.

"Jimmy Bullard's in a new area of his rehabilitation," he explained.

"It was just a precautionary resting and fortunately it has worked for everybody.

"It now gives me a bit of a headache for Saturday, but they are the kind of headaches you want."

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