Mason Burstow’s 80th-minute strike earned Hull a 2-1 win at home to Swansea to end a 13-match run without victory.
Bottom of the Sky Bet Championship at the start of the day, substitute Burstow brilliantly ended the rot with a swerving low hit from outside the penalty area.
Ruben Selles must have earlier fancied his chances of a first win as new Hull manager when Joao Pedro scored after 34 minutes.
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Hull City take the lead courtesy of Mason Burstow’s fantastic strike.
But his side’s inability to keep a clean sheet was again laid bare when desperate defending allowed Harry Darling to equalise with a smart header eight minutes later.
Swansea – with just one defeat in five previous games – started poorly but they looked to have done enough to claim a point.
But they were punished for allowing time and space to Burstow, who did the rest to give Hull just a fourth home win in the calendar year.
Indeed, Selles really ought to have been celebrating a rare Hull goal after just 17 minutes.
Neat build-up allowed Ryan Giles the chance to send across a low ball from the left channel.
But unmarked Regan Slater inexplicably failed to hit the target from six yards when in a central position.
Hull then came even closer to opening the scoring in most bizarre circumstances on the half-hour.
Gustavo Puerta’s half-volley struck the left post, with the ball then deflecting off goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux’s right leg and away to safety.
Suitably inspired, Hull deservedly opened the scoring soon afterwards.
Steven Alzate was given too much time just outside the penalty area to find Pedro inside the box on the right.
Josh Key should also have been far tighter to the Brazilian, who threaded a cute side-footed strike that defeated Vigouroux at his near post via a deflection off the Swansea defender.
But with Hull seemingly in relative control, their defensive frailties were once again exposed by an unmarked Darling.
Josh Tymon, formerly of this parish, sent over a superb deep cross from the left that was expertly headed into the bottom-right corner.
The start to the second half mirrored that of the first, with neither side doing enough to force the issue.
Hull enjoyed more possession, but they were always susceptible to the counter-attack.
That was evidenced after 61 minutes when Tymon sent over another perfect cross – this time low and hard towards the back post.
Zan Vipotnik should have scored, but he got in an almighty tangle and could not even connect with Tymon’s exceptional delivery.
Perhaps sensing an opportunity against beleaguered hosts, Luke Williams urged Swansea to kick on within the final 20 minutes.
Williams was almost instantly rewarded when Matt Grimes’ well-orchestrated free-kick from the left found Darling, who headed across goal at the back post.
Ben Cabango was ideally positioned, but his header struck the right post.
That miss proved costly following Burstow’s intervention, after which Hull forward Ryan Longman struck the base of the left post with a powerful low effort.
Late Swansea pressure then came to nothing as home fans revelled in a crucial victory.
The managers
Hull’s Ruben Selles:
“I think we played a really good game. We were clear in what we wanted, and we minimised our opponents.
“The only problem we had was when we conceded and lost control of the game.
“When we were 2-1 you saw a team that kept doing what they knew they were doing.
“They did not retreat and when you retreat you will concede goals.
“I think it was a powerful feeling at full-time.
“The club, the fans, the players and the staff have been looking for this feeling for long enough.”
Swansea’s Luke Wiliams:
“I thought it was a dreadful performance and a result that matched it for us.
“I couldn’t tell you why we played like this, but we were certainly very, very poor.
“In fairness, I didn’t even celebrate our goal as, from a performance point of view, it was not good enough.
“I was hoping there would be a reaction (from the Sunderland game), but I don’t think we’re in that place as a group just yet.”
Williams added: “They were better than us. We played well against Sunderland for 45 minutes and then we were dreadful.
“I was disappointed, but I wasn’t expecting that.
“I didn’t think either side played particularly well, but I wasn’t expecting that – it was very, very disappointing.”
