Condemned to certain relegation by most – OK, all – pundits outside East Yorkshire, Hull took maximum points thanks to a late howler by Paul Konchesky, the Fulham defender, that let in Caleb Folan for a tap in.

Results on the opening day of a season can be notoriously poor pointers to teams’ long-term prospects, but the home side hung on gamely as Fulham almost passed them off their own pitch. It will not be the last time they are outplayed this season, but they will remember that they were able to ride out the storm on Saturday and impose their own more direct style in the second half. If Fulham had had the cutting edge that they hope will be provided by Andrew Johnson, who is expected to have recovered from a thigh injury in time to make his debut against Arsenal next weekend, they might have put the game beyond Hull after Seol Ki Hyeon’s headed opener.

However, Geovanni levelled with a goal out of nothing, and two substitutes combined to plunder a winner, Craig Fagan pressuring Konchesky into a late error before setting up Folan to tap in the winner.

Folan pointed to the Premier League patch on his shirt as he celebrated, which he denied was somewhat presumptuous after only 20 minutes of top-flight action. “I think every player has to believe they are a Premier League player or we wouldn’t be here,” Folan said. “If you have that belief, you will put in Premier League performances.

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“We are all pleased with the win, but we are under no illusions because we have a lot of hard work ahead and stronger teams to face. We are probably the first in the firing line in a lot of people’s eyes but we have brought in a lot of quality and the lads have shown we can compete.”

Fulham learnt to compete at the back end of last season, avoiding relegation on the final day after winning three away matches in succession. That, though, is no guarantee of safety this season. “It’s going to be 38 tough matches, each one being a fight for points along the way,” Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, said. “Today brought that home clearly, although we could have understood the message without the defeat.”

Hull City (4-4-1-1): B Myhill 6 – S Ricketts 5, M Turner 6, A Gardner 5, A Dawson 5 – R Garcia 5 (sub: C Fagan, 74min), I Ashbee 6, G Boateng 7, N Barmby 5 (sub: P Halmosi, 62 6) – Geovanni 7 – M King 5 (sub: C Folan 70 6).

Substitutes not used: M Duke, D Windass, B Mendy, D Marney. Booked: Ricketts, Dawson, Fagan. Next: Blackburn Rovers (a).

Fulham(442): M Schwarzer 6 – J Paintsil 7, A Hughes 6, B Hangeland 6, P Konchesky 6 – S Davies 6, D Murphy 7 (sub: L Andreasen, 85), J Bullard 7, Z Gera 6 – R Zamora 5 (sub: C Dempsey, 81), S Ki Hyeon 7 (sub: E Nevland, 85).

Substitutes not used:P Zuberbühler, T Andranik, F Stoor, T Kallio. Next: Arsenal (h).

Referee: P Walton. Attendance: 24,525

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