Hull City boss Grant McCann admits the Tigers rode their luck during their penalty shootout victory at Sunderland.
The Black Cats were dominant throughout the Carabao Cup first-round tie at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.
Phil Parkinson's side were guilty of spurning a succession of chances in the first half, and could not find the breakthrough despite their control of the contest.
The Tigers - featuring former Sunderland captain George Honeyman in their line-up - improved in the latter stages but struggled to create any meaningful openings.
However, it was the visitors who booked their place in the second round with a 5-4 victory on penalties, with Keane Lewis-Potter netting the final spot-kick after Will Grigg's miss.
It has been a turbulent year for Hull, with the club succumbing to relegation from the Championshp following a terrible run of form and the January sales of Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki.
Speaking to reporters following the game, McCann expressed his delight at his side's clean sheet and their grit throughout a difficult cup tie on Wearside.
McCann told Hull Live : “It was a tough game. We knew it was going to be.
"We showed a very good temperament in the first half to not concede when Sunderland were on top of us.
“We defended well. We rode our luck at times.
“The second half we started a bit cagey but the last 15 minutes I think the fitness levels showed. We probably looked like the team that was going to win it towards the end.
“I was really pleased with the penalties. The boys showed great composure. All in all it’s a good day’s work for us and we can start as we mean to go on.
“We showed a different side to us, a side we didn’t show enough of last season.
“We didn’t let that ball go in our goal. We stuck to it, the togetherness was there. Everyone wanted to make sure we got that clean sheet. The boys are in a good place.”
