BIG game, big crowd and another big blow for Leeds United as their push for promotion continues to go off the rails. They have now gone five games without a win, have failed to score in three and have not found the net from open play in nearly six hours of football. Not exactly the form required as the business end of the season approaches with only five games to go.

But what a big scalp for Hull City. Billed as the biggest ever contest at the impressive KC stadium, the first meeting in Hull between near neighbours for some 16 seasons was played out in front of a sell-out crowd.

Most of it unfolded in the kind of fast, furious and frenetic action that such derby games tend to create. “Never mind the quality, just taste the victory” will be the fitting epitaph for the Humberside team at the end of it all. This creditable win extended their unbeaten run to four games, dropping only two points, and surely any fear of an immediate return to League One must now have disappeared.

There were chances in roughly equal share at opposite ends throughout this lunchtime kick-off but the only one that really mattered was eventually taken by Jon Parkin with only 14 minutes to go. The big 6ft 4in centre-forward had proved a handful to a stuttering Leeds defence all match, especially in the air. But on the ground his close control often let him down.

With the game ebbing away to a stalemate that both these teams could have done without, another cross was swung into the packed visiting penalty area. Stuart Green, wide out on the right flank, was the provider and this time the big man, labelled “The Beast”, seemed to hang in the air for an eternity before eventually nodding the ball down and past Neil Sullivan in the Leeds goal.

With an extra four minutes added on at the end, substitute David Healy whipped a free kick just wide and Rob Hulse slid an effort inches away.

But firing blanks is becoming a common feature of the current Leeds side and it comes at a time when they need just that little bit of extra ammunition to sustain the final assault for an automatic promotion spot.

It is a weakness readily accepted by Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell. “We are very disappointed because the prize is so great,” he said. “There are times to say strong and harsh words, and other times to sit back and assess. I will be sitting back and doing a lot of assessing in the next few days.

“For all our possession we should have scored. But we are firing blanks and lacking a little bit of imagination. If we are going to get automatic promotion, we are going to have to do it the hard way.”

It could all have been so different as Eddie Lewis so nearly gave the visitors the perfect start within the first few seconds. From just outside the penalty area he curved a marvellous free kick round the defensive wall only for Bo Myhill to dive full length to his right and tip the ball away for a corner.

With Hulse and Robbie Blake almost running at will in the early encounters, it seemed the stage was set for a win that would have seen Leeds leapfrog into third place. Almost the only interruption before the interval was an early Parkin header from the six-yard line that was somehow ruled out for offside. Other frenetic action saw Liam Miller put in a slide-rule pass right in front of the onrushing Blake. In keeping with the game he blazed his attempt well over the bar.

The pace rarely slackened after the turnaround and having taken all that Leeds could throw at them, Hull opted to throw a little more caution to the wind and opened up a little in the way of an attacking force.

This was demonstrated by the lively Craig Fagan, who ran almost the entire length of the Leeds half before being finally thwarted by the attentions of at least four members of the visiting defence, again ably marshalled by captain Paul Butler. At the other end it was the same old story, however, with Miller the next culprit to miss an easy opportunity — with almost the entire goal at his mercy he stroked the ball wide. Such profligacy was punished by Parkin and Leeds’s run of misery was complete.

After the game a delighted Hull manager Peter Taylor said: “It was a great match, a great local derby and a cracking atmosphere. This win means an awful lot to us. When you play against the top teams you have to give that bit extra and we certainly did.”

For Leeds chairman Ken Bates, who admitted his club was in a financial mess when he arrived 14 months ago and had at least 18 bank accounts, he will be hoping the figures still balance out come the final turn of the promotion roulette wheel at the end of the season.

Match stats

Player Ratings: Hull: Myhill 7, Cort 7, Delaney 7, Andrews 7, Welsh 6, Thelwell 7, Green 7 (Paynter 85min, 4), Parkin 8, Ellison 7 (Elliott 70min, 5), Fagan 9, Rogers 6

Leeds: Sullivan 6, Kelly 6, Butler 7, Gregan 7, Crainey 7, Douglas 6, Lewis 7 (Healy 77min, 6), Derry 6, Miller 6 (Graham 77min, 4), Hulse 6, Blake 6 STAR MAN: Craig Fagan (Hull)

Scorer: Hull: Parkin 76

Referee: E Ilderton

Attendance: 23,486

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