Hull City boss fumes at two key decisions and reveals referee apology in verdict on Sunderland defeat

Tim Walter criticised referee Bobby Madley's role in Sunderland winning goal at Hull City on Sunday and also claimed that Chris Mepham should have seen red shortly before half time at the MKM Stadium.

Wilson Isidor's brilliant goal proved the difference between the two sides in a tight game of few chances, the striker running from his own half before chipping his effort over the goalkeeper after a Hull corner. The hosts, though, were incensed after what they believed was interference from the refeee as they tried to take that corner short.

Walter said the referee had apologised to him afterwards but said he had also missed a red when Mepham appeared to handle the ball to prevent a long ball reaching Gustavo Puerta close to the Sunderland goal.

"Maybe you can interview the referee then it would be better," Walter said.

"For me, it's really frustrating. He apologised for this situation, but it doesn't help. He's not well prepared because I said, 'If you know how we play the corner kicks and the set pieces, then he would know that we play a lot of situations short. He said to me that he was well prepared, but unfortunately not because I did it also in my former clubs, and we do it all the time. If you don't find the right position, then in this case, maybe you're not well prepared, and that's what I said to him - and he said he could not whistle.

"You can't explain every situation, sometimes you have to accept it and it was like it is today. It was not the only situation, because in the first half, it was also for me a clear handball. He [Mepham] played the ball with the hand back to the keeper, and for me, it's a red card, but he saw it in a different way. We have to accept it, but it is like a never-ending story."

Walter accepted his side could have defender the opener better but insisted he was pleased with much of his team's performance.

"Yes, one hundred per cent afterwards, we can do it better," he said.

"You know the situation which normally could stop and then it's like, OK, somebody is lifting their feet afterwards, and then you're really surprised about the situation. Maybe that's the reason, but afterwards, yes, for sure we can do it better. We can do everything better, but sometimes it's not our mistake.

"We can talk about every mistake we made. We did a lot of them today, but we also had some good situations, and we tried to create a lot of chances as well. They were more lucky today, but we have a lot of situations and a lot of things we did which I'm happy about because they are improving.

"They are progressing, and that's good to see how they treat each other and how they behave on the pitch. They try to invest everything for our team, but also for the fans."