Gary Rowett felt his players showed a surprising lack of motivation as Oxford lost 2-1 at fellow Sky Bet Championship strugglers Hull.
Goalkeeper Jamie Cumming’s own goal was the key moment when he allowed Gustavo Puerto’s weak strike on the left byline to rebound off his right shin and into the net at his near post after 76 minutes.
Rowett said: “We had some really good moments, but it just felt like we gifted them the two goals.
“That’s why I’m so annoyed with the performance.
“It’s tough to take. This is one of the very few times that I’ve been angry with the players.
“With a team fighting for their lives, it felt like we didn’t quite want to win the game enough.”
Oxford have not won in nine Championship games and are now just four points clear of the relegation zone.
But that frustrating run of form looked to have reached an end when Michal Helik brilliantly volleyed home Matt Phillips’ corner after 66 minutes.
Hull, however, finally translated their greater possession into an equalising goal after Joe Gelhardt nicely converted Kacey Palmer’s through-ball seven minutes later.
Cumming’s dreadful mistake then proved decisive, after which Puerto was shown a second yellow card with an alleged dive in stoppage time.
Rowett said: “The two goals were so bad and that’s why I’m so annoyed with the performance as they didn’t look like they had enough to open us up.
“We started poorly and was a little bit passive. We grew into the game but I expected more fire about us.
“To go 1-0 up and, in a flick of a switch, go 2-1 down is tough to take.
“The frustration is that it was not as if we were under massive amounts of pressure – far from it.
“What you can’t accept is two soft goals and we didn’t fight for our lives to protect our win.
“At some point, someone’s gone to step up. We’ve had so many opportunities in recent games to put the hammer down and win.
“But we can’t just wait for other teams to lose. Getting into the position we did so quickly (in Rowett’s early days as Oxford manager), maybe we felt we had already done enough.”
Hull still have work to do to avert the threat of the relegation, but they have lost once in their last six games and are now above Oxford in the table.
Head coach Ruben Selles said: “It was a difficult game, but we deserved to win.
“We started well and then we missed a few passes and they grew into the game.
“We had to work hard but we got the victory and the performance and that was the most important thing.
“I’m happy, but I’m not surprised. What we did last week (the 1-1 draw at Bristol City with 10 men) showed us where we are as a team right now.
“We managed to come back and do it in a proper way. And when you do that, the points come when you are ready to go and take them.
“The important thing is the feeling and sensation to show that we can compete against anybody.”
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