Stiliyan Petrov insists desire and determination are helping Villa win tight games this season.

The midfield star knew it was going to be a real battle at the KC Stadium but was confident Villa would emerge with all three points if they showed real grit and defensive solidity.

He told AVTV: "We knew it was going to be difficult because Hull have struggled in recent games and will have wanted to send their fans home happy for the New Year.

"We knew we would be under pressure because they were determined to put things right.

"It was important to defend well and work hard and we did that.

"We knew that if we kept a clean sheet, we could create something at the other end. It was a piece of magic from Ashley - we were a bit lucky with the goal - but we'll take that.

"We have shown that if a game is goalless or we're behind, we never give up and we still fight.

"We want to win every game. We pushed very hard and were determined and I think we deserved to win.

"They didn't have that many chances either. It was a tight game and thankfully, we got the three points."