Crystal Palace 1 Hull City 0: New strike duo can’t help Hull avoid defeat at Palace

For Hull City, however, sending out comfortably the most expensively-assembled team in the club’s history was last night no barrier to defeat.

Thanks to Shane Long being fit to partner fellow big money new arrival Nikica Jelavic for the first time, Steve Bruce was able to name a starting line-up that had cost in the region of £27m.

It did little good, as a fourth straight league defeat in January saw City’s woes deepen on a night when goalkeeper Allan McGregor was sent off in stoppage time for kicking out at Stuart O’Keefe following a late challenge by the Palace substitute.

Bruce’s men are still in 13th place but the gap between the Tigers and the bottom three could narrow to just two points tonight when West Ham United and Sunderland, 18th and 19th in the table respectively, are in action.

Far from a crisis but concerning, nevertheless, with Hull now boasting a points ratio of one-a-game. In most years, that has been enough to keep a team up. In others, however, it hasn’t and City badly need the partnership of Jelavic and Long to gel sooner rather than later.

Against Palace, the duo looked what they are. Two new arrivals who have had just a couple of training sessions together.

Time, though, is not on the Tigers’ side with February bringing trips to Sunderland and bottom club Cardiff City, along with home games against Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.

Hull’s away form is the joint worst in the top-flight. The Tigers have just five points from 12 games, only Stoke City have such a paltry return, and have failed to score in seven of those outings.

For the opening 45 minutes, Hull rarely looked like improving that ratio of firing blanks to an even 50 per cent.

Jelavic missed perhaps City’s best chance of the first half when he failed to connect with an inviting ninth-minute cross from Ahmed Elmohamady.

Tom Huddlestone also had a free-kick palmed away by Julian Speroni, who did well to get a firm hand on a ball that dipped and swerved viciously.

Those two efforts apart, however, the best Hull could muster in the first half was a cynical attempt to win a penalty by Long that saw the Republic of Ireland international step across Daniel Gabbidon before slowing down.

Referee Roger East was not fooled by the inevitable coming together and waved play-on.

In contrast to Hull’s often laboured efforts in midfield, Palace were much more incisive and, in Mile Jedinak, they had someone capable of dictating play.

The Palace captain may not have been signed by Tony Pulis, but he embodies all the qualities that the former Stoke manager demands of a player.

Pulis also puts much store by set-pieces, as was evident last night. But the Eagles are also capable of turning on the style and that proved to be City’s undoing for the goal.

Yannick Bolasie, so often in the shadow of Wilfried Zaha in last season’s promotion success, was the catalyst with a dart down the right flank that caught out Liam Rosenior. The City wing-back did recover to block the first cross but he was powerless to do anyything about the follow-up as Bolasie picked out Jason Puncheon.

His first header was woeful and heading wide. However, Puncheon’s lucky break came when the ball struck team-mate Marouane Chamakh and rebounded his way. This time, there was no reprieve for the Tigers as Puncheon fired past McGregor.

Buoyed by the goal, Palace poured forward for a second and Paul McShane twice had to be alert to avert the danger when Bolasie and Adrian Mariappa curled over inviting crosses.

Mariappa also had a shot that flew over while McGregor had to react smartly to tip over a Jedinak free-kick. City noticeably stepped up a gear on the restart as Jake Livermore shot over after latching on to a Jelavic knock-down.

George Boyd then brought a smart save from Speroni before Long fired the rebound into the side-netting moments after being flagged offside. As Palace, clearly rocked by the visitors’ transformation, wilted, Hull prospered and Rosenior fired wide.

Jelavic then had a wild shot that flew well wide before the hosts rallied as Chamakh brought a save from McGregor and Livermore had to deny the one-time Arsenal striker a shot on goal following a mistake by Alex Bruce.

Steve Bruce’s last throw of the dice was to bring Matty Fryatt on, but it was to little avail as Huddlestone ended the game in goal following McGregor’s red card.

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Crystal Palace: Speroni, Mariappa, Gabbidon (O’Keefe 80), Delaney, Moxey; Puncheon, Ward, Jedinak, Bolasie (McCarthy 64); Chamakh (Wilbraham 86), Jerome. Unused substitutes: Price, Williams, Bannan, Gayle.

Hull City: McGregor; Bruce (Quinn 76), Davies, McShane; Elmohamady, Meyler (Boyd 56), Huddlestone, Livermore, Rosenior; Jelavic (Fryatt 84), Long. Unused substitutes: Harper, Koren, Boyd, Sagbo.

Referee: R East (Wiltshire).