Hull receives ref's apology after Sunderland loss
Sunderland returned to the top of the EFL Championship with victory over Hull City, but the hosts felt the winning goal should not have stood.
Tim Walter revealed referee Robert Madley apologised to him after the match, with Wilson Isidor's third goal in four games enough to seal all three points at MKM Stadium.
The winning goal came in the 63rd minute, leaving Hull bemused as to how it was allowed to stand.
From a Tigers corner, referee Madley appeared to obstruct the view of Marvin Mehlem, who was subsequently dispossessed before Dan Neil sent Isidor clear, the Zenit loanee then outmuscling Cody Drameh before lifting the ball over Hull goalkeeper Ivor Pandur.
Walter later confirmed he had received an apology from the official for the incident, but acknowledged his side was ultimately made to pay for not taking their chances.
"The referee invited me in [to the official's room] to apologise, but it doesn't help me," he said. "But we had a lot of situations in the first half and a lot of counter situations, but our last decision wasn't the best.
"We created many chances, but we weren't clinical enough and, maybe, lost our heads in the last five minutes. We had more courage in the second half, and we showed we can maybe be on the same page as them."
As for Sunderland, which leapfrogged Burnley back to the top of the table, it now has seven wins from its opening 10 games.
"It's difficult to win away, especially at Hull," head coach Regis le Bris said. "In the first half, we dominated the ball but failed to break into the final third.
"The scenario in the second half was different. They kept the ball, and it was not easy to deal with the way they built up their attacks, and we did well.
"We were prepared to use our counter-attacks as we had that strength, and Wilson made the difference."
