A Dean Marney penalty together with second-half strikes by captain Ian Ashbee and Dean Windass were enough to seal a deserved derby win and ensure the Tigers started a final quartet of games that will decide their fate on a high.

It was enough to leave the 3,448 Tigers fans who made the trip to Oakwell in jubilant mood and increasingly confident that their club's 104-year wait for top-flight football could soon be over.

The mood among the Barnsley fans could not have been more contrasting, however, with this defeat meaning there is still work to do in the battle to avoid the drop.

The Tykes could already be safe, of course, with Simon Davey's side enjoying a four-point cushion over third bottom Leicester City.

However, in this most crazy of divisions where fans long ago learned to expect the unexpected, nothing can be taken for granted ahead of Saturday's meeting with the Foxes at Oakwell.

Hull also have a key game this weekend, Phil Brown's men returning to South Yorkshire to take on Sheffield United.

Blades manager Kevin Blackwell was in the 13,061 crowd last night and he will, no doubt, have been impressed by the professional manner of City's display.

On a cold night that saw Oakwell battered by a fierce hailstorm during the closing stages of the first half, the Tigers showed the kind of determination and control that makes all the difference at the business end of the season.

They should have won by a much more convincing margin with Fraizer Campbell twice going close during a rampant second half and Caleb Folan dragging a shot across goal.

Referee Stuart Attwell was also guilty of a shocking decision just after the hour when he waved play on after Folan had been upended by Stephen Foster inside the penalty area.

In the end, it did not matter with City completing a League double over Barnsley thanks to a Marney penalty, a typically brave header from Ashbee and Dean Windass's late strike.

The opening goal had come on 23 minutes when Campbell's pace caught out Dennis Souza, the defender needlessly clipping the heels of the on-loan Manchester United striker.

Attwell pointed straight to the spot and after the inevitable protests had died down, Marney stepped forward to send Luke Steele the wrong way.

Going in behind at the break may have been a tad harsh on Barnsley, Davey's side having contributed fully to a hard-fought derby. However, there was no doubting who was the better side after the break with City stepping up a gear.

Only the intervention of Marciano Van Homoet on the goal-line prevented Campbell from doubling the visitors' advantage in the early stages before the ball was scrambled behind.

It was only a temporary let-off, however, with Ashbee showing typical determination to meet the resulting corner and power a header past Steele.

Hull continued to pour forward and Windass rounded off a memorable evening by coming off the bench to score with his first touch seven minutes from time.

Istvan Ferenczi pulled a late consolation back for Barnsley but it could not take the shine off a night that saw City move into the top two, boost their healthy goal difference by two and show just how quickly fortunes can change in football.

It is, let's not forget, just 14 months since Hull were given a footballing lesson by Barnsley at Oakwell in a 3-0 defeat that captain Ashbee described as the "lowest point of his career".

That night, City replaced the hosts in the relegation zone and the manner of the display suggested the club were heading back to League One.

One man who did not share the pessimism, however, was Paul Duffen. Watching his first City away game after having held initial talks with then chairman Adam Pearson about a takeover deal, he saw enough to press on and complete a deal last summer.

Duffen, who watched last night's game from the away seats behind the goal rather than the directors' box, has since been rewarded with a thrilling first season in charge. And, on last night's showing, it could yet end with history being made.

Barnsley: Steele; Van Homoet, Foster, Souza, Nyatanga (Coulson 46), Kozluk; Hassell, Campbell-Ryce (Ferenczi 77), Leon; Macken, Odejayi (Nardiello 65). Unused substitutes: Togwell, Letheren.

Hull City: Myhill; Ricketts, Brown, Turner, Dawson; Fagan (France 77), Ashbee, Marney, Hughes; Campbell (Walton 88), Folan (Windass 82). Unused substitutes: Duke, Doyle.

Referee: S Attwell (Warwickshire).