Phelan refuses to criticise Snodgrass after penalty dive

Mike Phelan has said his team will take every stroke of good luck they get after Robert Snodgrass was awarded a very soft penalty.

Phelan would not criticise his player in public, but admitted he would probably have been aggrieved had the decision been at the other end.

He said: “The referee is the man in the middle who makes a decision. I’m not going to pull my own player up for something that the referee gave. I’m sure Alan is aggrieved by it, as I probably would have been at the time, but we take what we’re given at this level.”

When asked if he would have a word with Snodgrass, Phelan added: “That may happen next week, but right now I’ve just come out of a disappointed dressing room after my players showed fantastic attitude and effort. And I’m not going to pick holes in certain situations.”

Snodgrass’ penalty gave Hull a 1-0 lead at the break, but, after Palace mirrored the hosts’ three-man defence at the interval, the game sprung to life.

The excellent Wilfried Zaha was brought down in the area by Snodgrass, allowing Christian Benteke to equalise, before the former Manchester United winger produced a brilliant piece of skill to make it 2-1.

Hull profited from some poor defending to turn the game on its head again, with Adama Diomande levelling before Jake Livermore added a third.

But former Hull striker Campbell popped up in the 89th minute to earn Palace a point.