STEPHEN Clemence was left to rue a string of missed chances as his Hull City Hull Cityside bowed out of the Premier League Under-21s Cup with a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers last night.
After Jordan Preston's opener was cancelled out by Aaron Mclean before the break in an entertaining contest, the Tigers' saviour turned sinner late on when missing two gilt-edged chances to win the tie.
With Danny Graham also spurning two chances of his own when clear on goal, it was Blackburn who stole the victory with two strikes inside the final two minutes through a Jordan Slew penalty and a cute finish from Hugo Fernandez Molina.
"I'm disappointed because it's a competition we wanted to do well in," said reserve team boss Clemence.
"We did well again but unfortunately we've missed too many good chances. They're all disappointed because they knew they were the better team but it's important not to feel down about it. They've been on a great run."
On the chances missed by Graham and Mclean, Clemence added: "I have to say Danny and Aaron worked ever so hard. I know what they can both do and on another night they could have left with a couple of goals apiece. Their work-rate was fantastic."
It might have been the Premier League's Under-21s Cup, but there was no shortage of experience in the City ranks. Making the most of the overage allowance, Eldin Jakupovic, Abdoulaye Faye, Graham and Mclean combined to bring over 1,500 appearances in senior football to the occasion.
The Tigers' strike-force always gave them an edge and as early as the 12th minute, Mclean and Graham had combined to craft a fine chance. After collecting a short pass from his partner, Graham slipped the ball into Matty Dixon on the overlap and only a smart low save from goalkeeper David Raya kept Blackburn level.
Instead, it was the home side that took the lead with their first meaningful attack. With Bradley Bauress exploiting space on the flank, his low cross was not dealt with and allowed Preston to convert unchallenged from six yards out.
City were sloppy with the ball before and after conceding but were behind for just four minutes. Blackburn's defence could not contain the lively Mclean inside the box and under pressure, the centre-forward rolled a neat finish past Raya to quickly restore parity.
Graham's involvement in the build-up drew appreciation from Clemence.
Rovers came close to restoring their lead early in the second half when Preston's flick went narrowly wide before City hit back with an excellent chance on the hour mark.
Dixon's turn and burst in centre field had Blackburn back-pedalling and when he released Graham, it needed a good low save from Raya to thwart the City striker.
Ten minutes later, Graham went close again. Mclean was alert to pounce on the hesitancy of Blackburn in midfield, playing in his strike partner inside the left channel. Graham opened up his body to shoot right-footed but the effort drifted inches past the opposite upright.
With extra-time looming, City kept knocking on the door, wasting two glorious chances to win it. Dixon's cross begged for a telling final touch but only found Mclean's downward wide of the target, while the same guilty party was denied by Raya's save when it appeared a certain goal.
It did not take long for the cost of Mclean's late misses to become apparent. Within a minute of his second miss, Blackburn attacked to win a penalty when Slew went down under the challenge of Matthew Fletcher.
The Blackburn striker dusted himself down and beat Jakupovic a minute from the end.
There was still time for Fernandez Molina to make it 3-1 with a superb chip and cap a disappointing night for a wasteful City.
