A poor Wrexham side comes to the KC and only gets into its stride with 15 minutes to go, by which time the Tigers are two goals clear and cruising to victory.

Well, he's back, and as good as ever. It didn't seem possible that he would be able to summon such a display, precise, energetic, athletic and fearless, after a long layoff and with such a weight of expectation on him, but he did and it showed the difference between those who are good and those who are the real winners. Take a bow, Ber-nard 'The Executioner' Hopkins, still the best boxer in the world, despite a game effort from Guyanese Brit Howard 'The Battersea Bomber' Eastman. Closer to home, Stuart 'The Relentless God-Botherer' Elliott was the catalyst for a display in which we once again were the better team before finally, after a shaky finish, rowing off with the points. Who would have thought that the return of the league's leading scorer who is also our only genuine wide-left player and the best header of the ball at the club would make such a difference? Reinforcing the impression that football management is a simpler business with all your best players on the pitch were:

Myhill
Stockdale Cort Delaney Dawson
Price Ashbee Green Elliott
Barmby Allsopp

Of course, that is a notional formation. Frequently Price and Elliott's advances made it a 4-2-4, often Stockdale and Dawson were further forward than Ashbee who was left to do the holding more or less on his own, frequently Barmby was in the middle setting Green loose to advance. Throughout, it was entertaining and effective, as we proved that the best way to avoid the opposition midfield getting you in their grip, as we allowed Luton to do last week, is to deny them the ball. We won't play like this on Tuesday, of course, as that is away from home. No-one has ever been able to explain to me why footballers and managers behave so very differently away from home, but it seems to be one of those odd facets from the lore of the game. But carping should be at a minimum after yesterday's display, and I'll try and keep it just so.

With a rare start towards the South Stand, Elliott reminded us what we had missed, as a typical run and shot was blocked for a corner after Dawson's earlier effort had been deflected into his path. But we were passing and moving nicely from the start against a Wrex side who didn't look at all up for it; it wasn't hard to believe that the lurgy had entered their ranks, so tame was their early challenge. Not that they were completely neutered, we seemed to give Darren Ferguson a bit too much room too much of the time and he nearly made us pay, once when Ashbee coughed up the ball to him and he put Juan 'The Hitman' Ugarte free only to see him shoot wide under no pressure, again from a freekick which allowed Chris 'The Useless Old Get' Armstrong to head it wide and again when another Ferguson long ball found Armstrong and allowed him to demonstrate once more the finishing that failed to keep Crystal Palace in the top flight a dozen or so years ago as he fired his volley wide.

That apart, it was all us, Dawson seemingly invigorated more than most by Elliott's return getting into another shooting position after a typical Barmby ball had produced a goal mouth melee. Elliott caught the eye constantly. He showed a lot of guts in challenging for all the aerial stuff that came his way when a little wincing might have been understandable; he chased down his fullback; he ran and cut inside; he was great, really. Green and Barmby combined to set him up and his good strike was well-saved. Then he found Allsopp, looking up for it for the first time since the Stockport game, to hit the side netting. Just after the half-hour, Barmby and Green again combined to set up Allsopp, 8 yards out, he took 3 touches and allowed Wrex custodian Foster to make the save. We were all chuntering about how Allsopp would have buried it a year ago, a stupid argument if ever there was one, as we weren't playing Wrexham then, in philosophical terms a sort of retrospective futures argument and sharing the same logical flaws as when we debate what duties we owe to generations to come that haven't yet been born if we create present conditions that allow their putative parents to die, when thankfully Allsopp scored before I had chance to inflict all that on my fellow spectators. We broke out rapidly and Greeny advanced well before his shot was knocked away for a corner. We then had our second melee of the game as a Delaney header caused panic in their defence, Foster fubled it, Barmbyy and others lunged at it until it ran to SuperDan at the far post who knocked it in from about 30 inches.

We then buzzed at the Scouse Welsh up to half time, Price terrorising them on the right with a cross that Allsopp got to before a panicking defender and custodian of the leather scrambled it away between them for another corner from which Barmby whistled a volley just over. There was still time for another corner, Greeny plonking it precisely onto the head of the leaping Elliott who, in Rod Belfitt mode, headed unerringly goalwards only for Foster to make an excellent save. But at half-time we were a goal to the good and we were content.

The second half we started like a runaway train. Stockdale found Allsopp, his flicked header put away Price, his cross found Green, his header, unfortunately, was over; a sumptuous move. Then Barmby put Price away but his excellent swirling cross just evaded Allsopp. Price seemed to have a licence to bomb forward and soon he was lurking dangerously in the middle although he rather wasted a free header. But we weren't long to be denied the crucial second. Stockdale and Barmby crafted it beautifully setting up Price wide and forrard again. His cross was well-hit but a bit too much so, if we hadn't had the best header of a ball who plays on the left flank back-pedalling underneath it. Elliott did his Ron Davies act, springing preternaturally high to head the ball down perfectly for Allsopp who, confidence now seemingly restored, finished with aplomb. And his right foot. 2-0, and Danny took the plaudits, but significantly Barmby and Green rushed first to congratulate Elliott.

Still we went at them, Dawson's freekick finding Cort whose header was saved, as was Allsopp's after Elliott's predatory run and cross. The Skwelsh were on the ropes, but we couldn't quite land the nighty-night punch. And we were nearly made to pay, as they got themselves back into it. The flu-enfeebled Ugarte was withdrawn in favour of Hector 'The Man With Two Given Names And No Surname' Sam. You always want to be wary of a man sporting only given names (You don't believe me? Listen to the awful shite produced by Craig David) and the wisdom of this maxim was soon demonstrated as the Trinidadian started to run at our defence. We more or less coped with this, but then were unable to clear a central cross which fell to the man Sam 20 yards out and he half-volleyed home in picturesque style. 2-1, and suddenly we were hanging on.

Surprisingly, but not so surprisingly when you consider how hard to read can be our manager, we changed nothing and kept trying to play football and get forward. Unfortunately, by now Price and Elliott were understandably blowing bubbles, though the former did combine in another lovely move with Barmby to set up Green for a left footed effort just over. But Wrexham, whispered on by a travelling platoon of 17, so nearly nicked it. Goal mouth melee 3 (three) was the best of the lot, as they pinged it around our six yard box for what seemed like about 10 minutes as we desperately blocked and re-blocked before taking an age to clear it. Even then we weren't yet home, as the undeniably effective Ferguson lined one up in injury time from well out that flew past Boaz and, thankfully, past the post, to the sound of 15, 978 Hull folk exhaling simultaneously.

But we did it, we got our first win since January 3rd and we deserved it, despite late alarms. The game demonstrated the extraordinary powers of Elliott, the guile and class of Green and Barmby, and the infuriatingly mercurial nature of Price. It showed how good we are when our midfield plays as it can. It also showed that if Danny Allsopp played like he played up to Christmas a year ago, we would be 7 points clear, not Luton, and no-one would be wondering which striker we should sign. But we've got a cushion ahead of Tranmere and all of us, manager, fans and players, just need to keep our nerve for 10 more weeks and we'll be just about there.

HULL CITY (4-4-2): Myhill; Stockdale, Cort, Delaney, Dawson; Price, Ashbee, Green, Elliott; Barmby, Allsopp.  Subs: Facey, Hessenthaler, Edge, Duke, Lewis.

Goals: Allsopp 35, 58

Booked: Barmby

Sent Off: None

WREXHAM: Foster, Lawrence, Pejic, Holt, Bennett, Smith, Ferguson, Crowell, Jones, Armstrong, Ugarte.  Subs: Green (for Bennett, 63), Sam (for Ugarte, 65), Harrison, Done, Evans.

Goals: Sam 75

Booked: Jones

Sent Off: None

REFEREE: M Warren

ATTENDANCE: 15,995