Middlesbrough 3 Hull City 1

Apr 12 2009 Sunday Sun

EASTER is the time for resurrections and battling Boro gave themselves fresh hope of top flight survival with a crucial 3-1 home win over ailing Hull.

The Teessiders got off to a flying start with a Tuncay opener in the third minute but let Hull back into it before quickly taking control again as Matthew Bates netted.

But they had some nervous moments in a jittery second half before Marlon King sealed it at the death.

With Hull having brought an impressive 3750 fans and Teessiders turning out in force for a big basement battle neither side could really afford to lose kicked off in a cracking atmosphere.

And the home fans were soon screaming as Boro took the lead with a well engineered opener.

When a Hull attack broke down the ball was pushed quickly to King in the centre-circle and he touched it towards the right flank where Afonso Alves was steaming forward and the Brazilian scooped the ball before the last defender could cut it out then raced towards the box.

His low shot towards the far post sent keeper Matt Duke full length to save but he could only push it into the path of unmarked Tuncay and the Turk rifled home with a simple angled drive from eight yards out.

And in a lively spell that followed Hull looked shaky at the back as Boro piled on the pressure but the visitors survived the early storm and were back in it in the ninth minute.

Geovanni latched onto a defensive error from David Wheater and twisted through a crowd on the edge of the box to fire in a shot that was deflected over for a corner.

And when the flag-kick was only half-cleared former Boro man Nick Barmby collected near the right corner flag and chipped back in for unmarked Manucho and the Angolan international, on loan from MAnchester United, powered home an eight yard header.

Hull threatened again on 12 minutes when Bernard Mendy burst forward to the edge of the box onto a Barmby ball but Jones was out quickly to save with his feet and wiped out the midfielder in the process.

Boro went close on 15 minutes as Tony McMahon pumped a long ball forward into the box and King neatly put a cushioned back-heel into the path of Alves but his 20 yard effort screamed just over, then on 23 minutes Wheater put a looping header just over after Downing curled a free-kick in from the right.