Thursday 17 December 2015 09:41, UK
Hull manager Steve Bruce praised stand-in captain Jake Livermore after the midfielder scored the last-minute winner which earned a 2-1 victory over Reading at the KC Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Tigers had come back from Nick Blackman's first-half goal to score through Abel Hernandez and Livermore, who missed the start of the season after taking time out of the game.
Livermore has commanded a starting place in Steve Bruce's side after missing the start of the season through suspension, and the Tigers are among the front-runners for promotion to the Premier League.
"He's [Livermore] had his issues," said Bruce. "To be fair since he's been back in the team we're obviously better for him.
"He does not score many but he will remember that one I am sure. It's been a long tough road for him. He still seeks the help which he needs.
"In the second half, he was excellent because it was a difficult night for us."
Reading took the lead through Blackman in the first half and could have had more goals before then, had Allan McGregor not saved from Daniel Williams and Blackman.
Hull equalised when Hernandez scored his eighth league goal for the season with a close-range finish after Jonathan Bond had blocked a shot from Ahmed Elmohamady.
The game looked to be heading for a draw but as Reading failed to clear a Hull attack, Livermore pounced to score a vital last-minute winner. Bruce was disappointed his team had to come from a goal behind to claim the victory.
"It's happened too many times that we haven't started," he added. "It's crept in in the last month or so.
"We have to give Reading a bit of credit. I think they have got some excellent players going forward."
Reading caretaker manager Martin Kuhl has urged the club to appoint Steve Clarke's successor quickly; the Royals are without a win since beating Bolton 2-1 in November.
"You would like it to be, one way or the other, to be sorted out," he said. The players want to know. The coaches want to know what is going on."
Kuhl admitted to being disappointed after his side had dominated the first half.
"I am very disappointed. The lads are in the dressing absolutely flat out. The endeavour and the commitment and some of the quality they played with in the first half was excellent."
