Darko Gyabi's composed first-half finish earned in-form Hull City a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough in the Championship, a result that slices the gap between the sides to just two points and offers a sharp contrast to the meeting less than a month earlier when Boro stormed to a 4-1 victory at the MKM Stadium.
Sergej Jakirovic's side have now gone five games unbeaten, winning four of them, while defeat extends Kim Hellberg's Middlesbrough to three matches without a goal and invites the chasing play-off pack closer in the promotion race. Middlesbrough dominated possession and racked up 23 attempts, but Hull's only effort on target, finished by Gyabi after excellent work from Kyle Joseph and Regan Slater, proved decisive on a night that underlined one team's cutting edge and the other's misfiring attack.
System tweak, early setback and a pivotal goal
Sergej Jakirovic had already tweaked Hull's shape into a back three for the trip to Teesside, mindful of Middlesbrough's tendency to dominate the ball and use their wingers infield, but his game plan was tested almost immediately when former Boro full-back and current wing-back Ryan Giles pulled up with a muscular problem inside the opening five minutes. The enforced change brought 19-year-old Cathal McCarthy on for only his third appearance, yet the visitors' structure and discipline remained intact.