It was a stunning end to a rather colourless game, with Hull City emerging euphoric and Middlesbrough feeling they'd been mugged. Yet for almost 80 minutes it was stalemate, an exercise in mutual cancellation, intriguing for football's studious but less than enthralling for the punter with stars in his eyes.
Let the relief show that City are back in a winning habit again. Although three draws is creditable and represented an unbeaten run, a win was needed again before the snipers managed to prolong their backbiting about a spent force, a team who chucked all they had into the first ten games and had little left in reserve.
Boro, a likeable club off the pitch and on it, will still feel like they've had their windows smashed and their points looted. A 78th minute lead was snuffed out within a minute and then controversy surrounded the Tigers' winner which involved an offside player, a dubious foul, a penalty and a red card. They left the KC Stadium shaking their heads, protesting silently while the Tiger Nation rejoiced that something went their way. After Stoke's self-produced spot kick of last week, it felt like retribution.
Phil Brown yet again declined to ring the changes, with Andy Dawson not ready to return to the left back spot after Achilles issues (and, judging by Sam Ricketts' man of the match display, less likely to) and Nick Barmby starting against his unforgiving old club. There was a more civil response from the away contingent for further old boys when George Boateng's name was called and when Dean Windass was announced as an inhabitant of the bench.
Cold but clear at the KC, and Boro are by far the most watchable and settled team in the opening ten minutes. A quick corner is forced, and Stewart Downing's spiralling delivery avoids absolutely everybody until a mildly panicking Ian Ashbee boots it out at the far post.
It's a flurry of activity, and the pace seems even quicker than recent matches, largely due to Middlesbrough's laudable principle of playing the ball sharply and succinctly to feet. City are in desperate mode as Jeremie Aliadiere twice fires in drives which Ricketts does well to block, before Tuncay blazes the third dig well over the bar. City haven't settled and Middlesbrough haven't scored. Neither manager shows impatience at their respective inabilities, and soon the game begins to even itself.
The most apparent facet of City's attack in the first half was an almost comical inability to time and direct headers from Geovanni. The Brazilian, begloved but otherwise playing an English winter as if it were all he'd ever known, twice had free headers from killer balls - first through Dean Marney, then through particularly persistent work from Ricketts - but his efforts to get headers on target were beyond wasteful, albeit forgivably. Despite that gorgeous plunging effort at West Bromwich Albion, he is not ever going to be known for using the outside of his head as a physical tool, more the inside for concocting and mastering ball control and creating openings. He is still the player all opponents fear.
Downing has a shot saved by Boaz Myhill before City begin to up the ante. Geovanni has a piledriver blocked bravely by David Wheater, with the ricochet failing agonisingly to reach the supporting run of Boateng. Boro clear, and immediately Aliadere gallops free to force Myhill into another hardy save.
Geovanni then breaks the offside trap and seems set to go one-on-one with Ross Turnbull. His selflessness takes over and he tries a square ball (think about the winner against Fulham) to Marlon King, but Emanuel Pogatetz gets back to intercede. Unselfish but foolish, on this occasion, from the Brazilian. His impact on the game was still to come.
Paul McShane, growing in stature and now angling for a permanent move to the KC, then began a smart move with a deft backheel which released the ever-willing Marney. The inside ball to Geovanni was barely in the Brazilian's path before he was upended on the edge of the box, and his resultant free kick was deflected for a corner.
It's okay, this. The game lacks cutting edge and star quality but it isn't dull. City are increasing the intensity, prompting Boro to retreat and deal with the crosses and intricate passing the Tigers are wont to try when the confidence is up. Geovanni hits a volley from an awkward angle which Turnbull grasps at the second go, then Justin Hoyte makes a courageous clearing header from near his own far post as Barmby closed in on McShane's flighted ball. The corner is half cleared to Boateng, who fizzes in a cross-shot, the type where any sort of touch, no matter how deft or unintentional, would divert the ball netwards. Nobody got anything on it.
Half time came and went, and the second half became much of a muchness. Ricketts overlaps well, Barmby heads his cross over the bar. This is Barmby's last action, as Brown chooses to change things early, sending the enigmatic Bernard Mendy on in his place, while also withdrawing the bypassed Marney in favour of Daniel Cousin. More width, more height up top.
City have another go, as Geovanni picks up the pace and outstrips three Boro defenders on sheer speed before giving King a chance on the corner of the area. He belts the shot wide. Geovanni then has another pop himself, a drive from 25 yards which takes a touch and forces Boro into defending another corner, which was - oddly - taken by King and headed over by Kamil Zayatte.
Ah, Zayatte. Not had much cause to mention him yet, but the isolated errors from this consummate defender were still prevalent. He was stouter than at Stoke, but when the flawless Michael Turner is alongside him, it becomes easier to notice when he fluffs a tackle, gets caught out of position or - and this has been his weirdest habit - puts clearances straight upwards instead of out. Treading on the ball is a new one we can now add, as he did just that with 18 minutes left, allowing Aliadiere room for a shot which Myhill holds well. Zayatte needs to learn to concentrate more, and presumably still needs to learn a bit more English.
The last 15 minutes get underway and just briefly one ponders that rarest of rare Hull City beasts - a goalless draw. Last time was against Bristol City at the KC just over a year ago. However, City are suddenly undone, blasting the notion of a 0-0 stalemate out of the gun.
Ricketts is caught out of position when City possession is wasted, and Hoyte makes enough unchallenged progress in the City box to reach the line and square the ball for Tuncay to flick home with his heel from close range. There are only a dozen minutes left and the longer-toothed Tiger Nation member now assumes it's game over.
Yet, as if to prove Middlesbrough's sense of frustration to everyone who follows them, the equaliser was instant. Cousin chased an overhit cross, returned it to the danger zone and the tepid clearance found Mendy, whose shot went through Turnbull and then touched both post and keeper prior to squirming over the line. The Frenchman had again made a terrific impact and had scored his second goal for the Tigers (forget that own goal accreditation, that's got to be Mendy's) and like his first, needed an official declaration that the ball had entered the net.
So, ten minutes left and it's 1-1. This still was going either way. City break down a Boro attack and give Myhill the chance to put a foot through the ball. He does so, and suddenly time stands still as Geovanni gets to it first, racing goalwards with impeccable control. Wheater scampers after him and shoulders make contact inside the box. Penalty given, Wheater sent off, and eventually King puts the kick to Turnbull's left with the keeper getting half a glove to it. It's suddenly 2-1, from 0-1, and all in the space of six minutes. Amazing.
Peter Halmosi came on for the emptied Geovanni as Boro realised they had nothing to come back at City with. They were shellshocked, spent, lifeless. The injury time flew by - indeed, only a corner which Myhill flapped at and every other outstretched limb missed entirely represented any sort of threat to City's ascendancy, and the final whistle was greeted with great roars of appreciation. Mild grumbles, understandably, from Boro's end when replays showed Geovanni was well offside in the build-up to the penalty and red card, but Boro will benefit from such a decision before long.
This wasn't City's tidiest or most heralded victory but, after three draws and a total of six winless matches, it will be deemed as important as any other. Fifth place in the Premier League table is the reward for a maximum haul to begin December, and that's a welcome bit of extra luggage to take to Anfield next week, and for all Liverpool's superiority this season, there's no room for any belief that turning up is all City need to do. It's winnable, you just watch.
Hull City: Myhill, McShane, Turner, Zayatte, Ricketts, Boateng, Ashbee, Marney (Cousin 61), Barmby (Mendy 61), Geovanni (Halmosi 86), King. Subs not used: Duke, Windass, Garcia, Giannakopoulos.
Middlesbrough: Turnbull, Hoyte, Wheater, Pogatetz, Taylor, Aliadiere, Arca, Digard (Hines 87), Downing, Sanli, Alves.
Subs not used: Jones, Emnes, Johnson, McMahon, Grounds, Walker.
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