HULL’S manager, Phil Brown, likes to insist the performance is what matters, because if you get that right the results tend to take care of themselves. For half an hour or so the Tigers were at their best yesterday, with Jimmy Bullard genuinely inspirational, but before and after that purple patch the claret shirts of West Ham dominated. The result was a game of extraordinary incident.

The portents for City were not good when Valon Behrami was given time to shoot straight at Matt Duke in the first minute. They got a lot worse after Guillermo Franco wrestled himself goal-side of his marker, Richard Garcia, to head a Junior Stanislas corner past the flat-footed Duke.

Worse was to come for City, in every sense. Franco’s long, deep cross should have been easily dealt with by a defence with two tall centre-halves but Jack Collison found himself jumping against the relatively diminutive full-back Andy Dawson and happily looped his header over the stranded Duke to make it 2-0 after 11 minutes.

West Ham supporters, remembering the manner in which their side had surrendered a two-goal lead at Sunderland last month, knew the game was not over, however, and before the half-hour City were back in it. Luck was very much on their side when Bullard’s driven free kick was deflected first by the foot of Scott Parker and then by the head of Carlton Cole before drifting into the top corner of Robert Green’s goal.

Talk about a game-changer. Suddenly City were dominant, Bullard everywhere, one cross-field angled ball to Bernard Mendy a pass of international quality. A minute before the break, Kamil Zayatte swept Stephen Hunt’s free kick past Green and then, incredibly, Hull went into the break ahead. Craig Fagan made the most of Julien Faubert’s mistimed challenge by collapsing in the penalty area as he felt the contact, Mark Clattenburg pointed at the spot and Bullard triumphantly thrashed the ball into the roof of the net.

Eight minutes after the break the game changed again when Parker, about to burst into the City penalty area, was blatantly brought down by Mendy. The full-back had to go. Brown sent on Paul McShane for Garcia, pulled Craig Fagan back into midfield and left the young American Jozy Altidore on his own up front.

Now it was West Ham’s turn to pile on the pressure. It paid off when Manuel Da Costa rose to meet a Hammers corner, headed the ball against Altidore and lashed home the rebound.

Luis Jimenez, played in by the alert Parker, should have scored the winner and Collison’s stoppage-time header brought a good diving save from Duke as Hull hung on for a point they deserved.

“It was a crazy game. I couldn’t see them coming back at all because we were in control, but after they did so I was pleased with our attitude,” said the Hammers manager, Gianfranco Zola. “I’m sure it wasn’t a penalty for them. Referees sometimes make mistakes and you can’t do anything about that.”

Brown claimed: “We didn’t deserve to be two down, but even then the players looked like they were enjoying themselves. Jimmy Bullard is giving us belief, his teammates trust him with the ball.”

Star man: Jimmy Bullard (Hull)

Yellow cards: West Ham: Stanislas, Franco, Hines, Jimenez

Red card: Hull: Mendy

Referee: M Clattenburg

Attendance: 24,909

HULL: Duke 5, Mendy 5, Zayatte 6, Gardner 6, Dawson 5, Garcia 6 (McShane 56min, 6), Marney 7, Bullard 9, Hunt 7 (Geovanni 84min), Altidore 6 (Vennegoor of Hesselink 73min), Fagan 6

WEST HAM: Green 6, Faubert 5, Da Costa 6, Upson 6, Gabbidon 5, Collison 6, Behrami 6 (Hines 60min, 5), Parker 8, Stanislas 6, Franco 7 (Jimenez 69min), Cole 6