Inside Middlesbrough's late defeat at Hull City: The moment Boro lost momentum and what cost Neil Warnock's side

The Teessiders have made noticeable improvements since the 71-year-old’s appointment last week, yet the league table doesn’t lie after 40 Championship games. With six fixtures remaining, Boro are just a point above the bottom three.

You could argue the visitors were the better side during Thursday’s trip to the KCOM Stadium to face fellow strugglers Hull, yet Tigers keeper George Long didn’t have too much to do.

Mallik Wilks’ stoppage-time winner gave Hull their first victory since New Year’s Day, and also saw Grant McCann’s side leapfrog Boro with a 2-1 triumph.

This week’s news that Wigan have gone into administration and will face a points penalty could provide a safety net for both these sides

Yet that didn’t detract from the importance of this relegation tussle, with both clubs looking to create some breathing space from the relegation mire.

And there were plenty of signs that Boro could move five points clear of the drop zone after Britt Assomablonga converted a fourth-minute penalty.

Hull reacted immediately, though, with Liverpool loanee Herbie Kane curling home a fine free-kick four minutes later.

Still, Boro will have been seen as the favourites under Warnock and there were more signs of progress, even if the end product was lacking.

The Boro boss highlighted his squad’s lack of leaders earlier in the week, calling for his experienced pros George Friend and Jonny Howson to step up to the plate.

Unlike at the Riverside and bet365 Stadium there was no crowd noise played inside the ground at the KCOM, meaning you could hear players shouting to one another.

Boro skipper Friend was by far the most vocal in a red shirt, repeatedly shouting words of encouragement to fellow defender Djed Spence and the rest of his Boro team-mates.

Spence, 19, was a constant threat in the first half, regularly running beyond winger Patrick Roberts and delivering crosses into the penalty area.

In fact nearly every Boro attack in the opening 45 minutes came down the right channel, with Roberts looking to cut inside onto his favoured left foot.

An injury blow for Hull looked like it may turn the tide in Boro’s favour. Left-back Callum Elder was forced off five minutes before half-time which forced midfielder Leonardo Da Silva Lopes to drop back into defence.

Yet Boro didn’t capitalise and suffered an injury of their own at the start of the second half, with the influential Spence pulling up, meaning Howson was moved to right-back.

Roberts was surprisingly withdrawn around 10 minutes later, though it should be remembered he’s only just recovered from a hamstring injury.

The visitors lost momentum after that and, despite seeing more of the ball, they couldn’t kill the game off.

Warnock also admitted his surprise at Boro’s lack of goals this season, the Teessiders are the lowest scorers in the division, and they clearly weren’t ruthless enough here.

A late sucker-punch was always possible and gave Hull a huge win. With six games to go, Boro are still in a battle.