There was to be no Boxing Day delight for Hull City at Deepdale as their troubles continued with a 1-0 defeat against Preston North End . Having seen off Swansea City before Christmas to lift some of the gloom which had come with a 13-game winless run which was ended on Saturday, that positivity evaporated in Lancashire with a defeat which left fans, players and manager equally frustrated. It was also a defeat which saw the Tigers fall back into the bottom three at the halfway point of the season and time starting to run out to turn this season around.
Here's the top talking points from another day to forget for the Tigers...
. If Saturday's win over Swansea lifted spirits, this was a performance and result which brought everybody back down to earth with a thump, and it would have hurt. A dominant start to the game should have seen City go in front, but Regan Slater's troubles in front of goal continued, and after failing to convert their impressive opening into a lead, they allowed the hosts to gain a foothold in what turned out to be a dire game between two poor sides struggling at the wrong end of the table.
It was there for the taking, because Preston were poor on the ball, but City were just not good enough to take advantage. Had City been able to snare a point, you'd have probably taken it, given the way it panned out overall, but instead, you're coming away feeling deflated about a result and, more concerningly, a performance that was really low on quality. There's no l.