A thrilling end-to-end battle at the bottom of the Premier League saw Marco Silva's Hull City come out 4-2 victors over Middlesbrough and Steve Agnew and climb out of the bottom three while Boro remain 19th.

The former Hull assistant saw his team take the lead in the 5th minute of the match after Oumar Niasse had a goal disallowed. Alvaro Negredo put Boro infront, sliding to score Boro's first away goal of the year.

Hull City responded quickly, scoring three goals in the space of 19 first half minutes. Lazar Markovic, Niasse and Abel Hernandez scored to put Boro under threat of losing their fourth game in five.

A late first half headed effort from Marten de Roon gave Middlesbrough hope of a first win in four-and-a-half months.

The second half was less frantic, but the goals did not stop as the Humberside club scored the sixth goal of the game with Harry Maguire racing in at the back post to power past Victor Valdes.

Hectic first half

Games with so much riding on them can, sometimes, be cagey affairs. Not this one, however, as Hull began the match on the front foot and had the ball in the net within three minutes as Markovic squared the ball to Niasse, who had strayed offside, so his goal was disallowed.

It was Middlesbrough who took the lead in the fifth minute of the game as Adama Traore gains the ball on the right hand side of the box, and scuffs a shot to the back post where Negredo is to slide and score. That goal was Boro's first away from home in 2017. 

The Teessider's lead only lasted nine minutes as Markovic netted from close range following a scramble in Boro's box. Hesitation from Ben Gibson saw the Liverpool loanee net his first goal since arriving at the KCOM Stadium.

Hull would take the lead in the 27th minute as Niasse stroked the ball past the static Valdes. Just six minutes later, the Tigers would double their lead as Hernandez finished off a well executed counter attack from Hull to leave Middlesbrough with a mountain to climb.

This end-to-end first half was not over, however, as an Adam Clayton corner was eventually nodded in by de Roon. The Dutchman, however, was in an offside position when he scored but neither the referee Michael Oliver, nor the linesman, gave the goal as offside.

Tempo change going into second period

The break seemed to take the steam out of the game, however, as it took until the 65th minute to spark the game back into life, as Andrew Robertson found his way past Boro's fullback Barragan. The Scot pulled the ball back towards Niasse but Gibson did well to cut put the chance.

Hull City kept pressing forward and they were rewarded with their fourth goal of the match as Maguire met a free kick to the back post and his header hit the back of the net before Valdes was given a chance to move.

After the Tigers got their fourth goal, they sought to slow the game down to ensure their victory. And that is what they did, claiming the three points and climbed out of the relegation places.

Middlesbrough, however, look set to return to the Championship. Their total of 23 points is five behind that of Swansea City in 18th and eight points from safety.