STEVE Bruce admitted his Hull City side had "made hard work" of booking their place in the third round of the League Cup after Robbie Brady's extra-time winner finally saw off Leyton Orient 1-0 last night.
Brady pounced just 65 seconds after coming on as a substitute midway through extra-time to book a place in the last 32 for the first time since 2009-10.
A side that included 11 changes from the side that beat Norwich 1-0 on Saturday were far from polished against the League One leaders and Bruce admitted his troops took a fortuitous path into the next round at Brisbane Road.
Bruce said: "We played them last year in the FA Cup. They gave us a run for our money then and they did it again.
"It was an ideal opportunity for a lot of players to get a run out but we made hard work of it.
"It's never ever easy but we needed to play better than we did. We got through but on another night we might not have done.
"It was one of those difficult nights where you're just glad to be in the next round."
• Bruce hints at possible move for Nick Proschwitz
