Hull City pass character test against Oxford, not that Ruben Selles was surprised

Hull were on their way to defeat after former Barnsley and Huddersfield defender Michael Helik thumped a volley past Ivor Pandur on 67 minutes to give Oxford the lead.

But from out of nowhere Hull staged a livewire response, winning the game within 10 minutes of going behind.

First, Joe Gelhardt latched onto Kasey Palmer’s through ball to beat Jason Cumming.

Then Gustavo Puerta got to the byline and scored via a deflection from the goalkeeper sparking jubilant scenes among the MKM Stadium faithful who were witnessing just their fourth home win of the season.

Victory moves Hull up to 18th, above Oxford and five points clear of the Championship relegation zone with nine games to play.

Selles, who watched the game from the back of the stand serving a one-match ban, said: “We started well in the first half, before they came back into it.

"Second half we were having a good time of it and I thought the substitutions gave us a big boost.

"We are developing that competitiveness we have been talking about and today we got the victory and the performance to go with it.

"I’m happy about the character we showed but I’m not surprised. The most important thing is we showed we can compete against anyone.”

Oxford manager Gary Rowett said: “That’s the first time I’ve been angry at the players over the manner of the goals we conceded.

"In the flick of a switch we’re 2-1 down to two really, really poor goals.

"I’m really disappointed after the game.”