Curle rues defensive lapses in Hull defeat

Cobblers boss Keith Curle rued two lapses of concentration that cost his side dear in their 2-0 defeat against Hull City on Saturday.

Town had been the better team for the first 34 minutes but then Keane Lewis-Potter was left unmarked nodded in George Honeyman's free-kick against the run of play.

Nine minutes later Honeyman himself was set free on goal and he beat Steve Arnold to hand Hull a lead that they would never look like giving up.

"We were up against a decent team," said Curle afterwards. "They are a very possession-based side but I think we nullified a number of their threats and we upset the way they wanted to play the game.

"The game ultimately boiled down to two defining moments and two free-kicks, one on the edge of our box and one in the middle of the park.

"It's something we can improve on because when the ball goes dead, we need to come alive and switch on and nullify their threat.

"You can say it was a good delivery and good movement from them but it wasn't the defending I expect.

"I thought our final third entries and our selection of passing was poor and that's something we need to improve and will improve as we get that understanding back of how we want to play."