Steve Bruce blamed Hull City's "Achilles heel" for defeat at Brighton, after the Tigers again failed to take their goalscoring chances.
Former Spain international Vicente scored the only goal with a late free-kick as City missed the chance to go second in the Championship.
Bruce insisted City were the better side at the Amex.
He said: "I'm frustrated. We created great chances and could have gone 2-0 or 3-0 ahead. But we didn't take them and that is our Achilles heel."
"Bearing in mind we have two strikers out in Sone Aluko and Matty Fryatt we've done remarkably well.
"A lot of teams are evenly matched in the Championship and we can finish in the top six.
"It's cruel to be without our two strikers, but we are doing admirably well without them."• Read the best and most comprehensive match reaction in Monday's Mail.
• Match report: Brighton 1 Hull City 0
