Hull City midfielder Tom Huddlestone has apologised for his penalty miss after the Tigers could only draw their Europa League qualifier against AS Trencin 0-0.
Having seen Shane Long upended to win a spot-kick, the £5m midfielder stepped up and saw his effort well saved by home goalkeeper Milos Volesak before blasting the rebound over from two yards out after clipping the crossbar.
It was the best chance to come City's way in a European tie which highlighted the fact they had only returned to pre-season training two weeks ago.
And before flying home tonight, Huddlestone has said sorry to fans for fluffing his lines.
"Can only apologise to everyone for a lapse in concentration and thinking I had scored the rebound before I had. Ridiculous on my behalf," he said on Twitter.
"On a positive note, the lads worked hard and defended well throughout deserved our clean-sheet. All to play for next week"
City must now beat Trencin in what is likely to be a sell-out return leg at the KC Stadium next Thursday if they want to advance.
Tigers boss Steve Bruce refused to blame his star man for the miss and thanked the 600 or so fans who made the 1,200-mile trip to Slovakia.
On the penalty, he said: "We've all missed penalties and made mistakes. You don't intentionally do it."
Paying tribute to the travelling supporters, he added: "Fair play to them. Some have been to four different countries on trains to get here.
"It would have been nice to come back with a victory, which I thought we edged, but overall it's been a wonderful experience for us all.
"We're at home next week and we'll be better physically. We've had a bit of competition now and we'll put some work in when we get home and look forward to the second leg."
