Neil Warnock struggled to comprehend how his Middlesbrough side managed to lose at Championship strugglers Hull.
The hosts went in front in bizarre fashion after 81 minutes when Keane Lewis-Potter’s strike hit a post and then the head of Boro goalkeeper Joe Lumley before going in.
Boro had been on top in the second half until that moment, but they conceded a second when Mallik Wilks had time and space to score in stoppage-time.
Warnock, whose players were jeered off by some of their fans at full-time, said: “It was a shock, really – I don’t know how we’ve not won the game.
“We’ve had all those chances, and then the ball hits the goalie on the back of the head – he’s our best striker at the minute.
“When it’s one of those days, it’s one of those days.
“You’re not going to get any better chances than we had (in the second half). I don’t know what else I can do, if I’m honest.
“Apart from running on the field and putting one in myself, I don’t know what we can do.”
Hull, who had been without a Championship victory since the opening day of the season, were the better side in the first half, but they found life increasingly tough after the restart as Middlesbrough took control.
Warnock’s men were, however, guilty of missing two outstanding chances to take the lead in the second half.
Andraz Sporar somehow found the side-netting when one-on-one with Matt Ingram, while the Hull goalkeeper later did well to stop Paddy McNair’s powerful volley.
Warnock added: “I’m gutted – I’m sick as a parrot – but in the morning I’ll be going again. It looks very bleak regarding injuries, but I’ll come up with something.
“I don’t think they could give me much more, but I just don’t think we’re getting anything near the rub of the green at the minute.
“I thought in the second half they realised we had to up it a bit and we did that. If one goal goes in, we score three or four.
“Everybody knows we should have won the game – it’s hard to take.
“I’m ready for the fight. If we can bring in anyone in, great. If we can’t, we’ll just have to do the best with what we’ve got.”
Hull head coach Grant McCann admitted fortune had favoured his side as they moved out of the relegation zone.
McCann said: “It’s a good win, given the circumstances.
“It’s never easy to play against a Neil Warnock side – we had to match them and fight and battle.
“We rode our luck at times, of course we did, but we had to stay strong.
“You need a bit of luck in games. It’s a great strike from Keane, but sometimes you need that luck – it just hits the goalkeeper.
“We’ve got a lot of young players learning on the job and we’re only going to grow and get better. There were big performances all over the place.
“The players deserve all the credit – they were outstanding.”
