"The penalty just before half-time was a turning point so far as we were concerned" Hughes said after the 2-0 defeat.
"At that time in the game we were quite comfortable as Villa had not caused us all that many problems.
"Although we never reached the level we wanted, I thought if we could have got to half-time on level terms, we could have had a real go in the second half.
"But to concede the penalty under those circumstances was a big decision for the referee, who didn't get it right on this occasion.
"Villa were strong at the back and we lobbed in far too many long balls. We need to better than we did on this occasion."