Goals from Gabriel Agbonlahor and James Milner, the latter a penalty, gave Villa a 2-0 win which keeps alive their outside hopes of a top-four finish while dealing a damaging blow to the Tigers' hopes of survival ahead of their home clash with Sunderland on Saturday.

Dowie told Sky Sports News afterwards: "The stats say we're better. We had more shots, crosses, more on target and 66% more corners.

"They all add up but the one that doesn't is goals and that's been the problem all year. Villa got the stat that matters."

He continued: "There were some excellent passing moves and I can't fault the commitment or effort of the players against an excellent side.

"This result makes it much more difficult but we've got nine more points to play for. We've got to make sure come Sunderland we put three points on the board - no question about that."

Dowie revealed striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink had gone to hospital following a clash of heads with Villa defender Richard Dunne, who needed stitches.

The Hull manager added: "Jan was out (unconscious) for three or four minutes. He's gone for a CT scan so it's very concerning."