Hull City hosted Crystal Palace this afternoon hoping to maintain a five-match unbeaten home record in the Premier League, while the Eagles travelled north in search of their first positive result on the road.
Palace showed spirited resistance in Keith Millen's final game as caretaker boss, largely frustrating the home team in a tight affair.
Late on the match came to life as Yannick Bolasie was sent off for a mistimed challenge on Jake Livermore, with Palace taking the lead three minutes later as Barry Bannan found the corner from close range.
Here, Sports Mole looks at how the Eagles shook off their dismal start to the season for a first away win in the top flight since October 2004.
Match statistics:
Hull:
Shots 13
On target 3
Possession 62%
Corners 11
Fouls 8
Palace:
Shots 9
On target 2
Possession 38%
Corners 4
Fouls 11
Was the result fair?
A point probably would have been something both sides would have been happy to accept heading into the closing stages after a fairly flat affair, but try telling that to Palace after they scored late on at a one-man disadvantage.
Hull's performance
Manager Steve Bruce will be bitterly disappointed with the way his side relinquished a proud home record, failing to show creative spark for large spells and falling asleep in the closing stages. George Boyd was their only driving force in the final third, while Yannick Sagbo spurned a genuine clear-cut opportunity early in the second half. Simply not good enough from the Tigers today.
Palace's performance
Boss Tony Pulis will be delighted with the spirit his new side showed, producing the kind of solid resistance that has been sorely lacking so far this season. Cameron Jerome will be relishing a reunion with his former manager and decided the match with a moment of genuine quality after replacing stricken Marouane Chamakh, beating his marker with an inventive turn before finding Bannan to slot home the winner. It was a real team performance, though, full of grit with large spells spent without possession.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Mile Jedinak: Hull may have dominated possession but they simply could not find a way round Jedinak today, with the Australian consistently breaking up play and making intelligent decisions in central midfield. Palace need Jedinak to stay fit and keep producing these kind of displays if they are to get out of trouble under Pulis.
Biggest gaffe
Bolasie may have been clumsy to get sent off late on but he still cannot trump Sagbo for the most glaring error of the match. The French striker was played clean through by a lovely piece of skill from Boyd, but with the goal at his mercy he dithered and wasted the chance with a tame effort.
Referee performance
Anthony Taylor enjoyed a relatively quiet game with little to do until Bolasie lunged in on Livermore, catching the midfielder's knee with studs showing as he tried to retrieve possession on the edge of the penalty area. The decision could have gone either way but Taylor chose to produce a red card, a decision which by the letter of the law can be viewed as a fair call.
What next?
Hull: Time to regroup for the Tigers as they look to halt a slide of four defeats in their last five matches, with Liverpool the visitors to the KC Stadium next Sunday.
Palace: Pulis will take charge of his first match next weekend in a certified relegation six-pointer when the Eagles visit struggling Norwich City.
Liam Power
