Basement side Barnsley left Shota Arveladze’s Hull side shellshocked as they won an away game for the first time this season.
Hull could have taken the lead on two minutes, but Keane Lewis-Potter’s mishit set the tone for the Tigers as they could not get any sort of momentum in the game.
An error-strewn display by the home side saw Callum Styles score just before the half-hour mark, leaving keeper Harvey Cartwright with no chance on his full Championship debut.
Just as City looked to get back into the game before half-time, they were hit with a Carlton Morris thunderbolt which saw the away side double their lead.
Despite three substitutions and Hull seeing most of the ball during the second half, Barnsley looked good value for their win and may feel with a few more results like that, their Championship status may not be in jeopardy just yet.
In front of the biggest crowd of the season, Barnsley started the game on the front foot. They pressed high and looked up for the challenge right from the off.
It was the home side who should have gone in front, however. A deep cross by Di’Shon Bernard found Lewis-Potter at the back post but he got his shot all wrong as he mishit the chance wide of Bradley Collins’ goal.
From then on, it was the away side who looked the most likely to score. Debutant Cartwright had to be on good form to deny Domingos Quina early in the half, but there was no stopping the opening goal as Styles put Barnsley ahead after the Tykes put the defence under pressure and forced the mistake.
Were it not for Cartwright, it could have been two soon after following a Barnsley counter-attack.
Just when Hull put some pressure on the visitors a minute before half time, a quick attack – stopped by Brandon Fleming for which he was duly booked – produced a free-kick that eventually saw the ball drop for Morris who made no mistake. He smashed the ball past Cartwright and a loud chorus of boos rang out across the stadium as the half-time whistle went.
Hull did up the urgency in the second half, particularly when Greg Docherty and Tyler Smith entered the fold on the hour mark – and the latter should have scored soon after, with Collins saving smartly with his feet.
Try as they might, City could not find a way through the packed Barnsley defence. The home fans started to exit the stadium long before the final whistle which will have disappointed watching owner Acun Illicali.
His £2-a-ticket offer saw the biggest crowd since 2017 at the MKM Stadium, 16,421, but the displays will have to be much better to sustain those fans who came back for this game.
The Tykes held on for a priceless win that the small number of travelling fans will have celebrated long into the night.
