Michael Carrick claimed his first win as a permanent boss in just his second game in charge of Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.
The former Manchester United midfielder was appointed to replace Chris Wilder at the Riverside last week in his first job as a manager. He lost his first game as Boro boss in a trip to Preston North End on Saturday.
But he was able to pick up his maiden three points at managerless Hull City on Tuesday, lifting his team further away from the relegation zone in the process. Carrick made just one change to his side for the visit to the MKM Stadium, wit Marcus Fross replacing Rodrigo Muniz up-front.
Chuba Akpom partnered the Finn in Boro's forward line and fired in the game's opening goal on the half-hour mark. Akprom had scored the opening goal of Carrick's reign at Preston and doubled his tally under the Englishman on Tuesday.
Right-back Tommy Smith picked up the ball after patient build-up play before sending a cross towards the back post. That was where Akpom was lurking and he duly headed the ball past Hull 'keeper Nathan Baxter.
Carrick's men had to fend off a fightback from the hosts after the break, but saw their lead disappear with 30 minutes remaining. Cyrus Christie burst into the area before cutting onto his left foot and seeing his deflected shot loop in over Zack Steffen.
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Just three minutes later, though, Boro were back in front when Darragh Lenihan's header was turned into his own net by Tobias Figueiredo. And they made sure of the three points with 10 minutes to go.
Ryan Giles' low cross struck Christie and squirmed past Baxter at the near post, ensuring Boro jumped up to 18th. The win left Carrick delighted, though he called for patience as his players get accustomed to his style.
"Really proud of the lads, and pleased for them too. The way they’ve gone about things since I’ve come in, they’ve really applied themselves and the attitude has been spot on. They've tried to do everything we've asked of them," he said.
"We played some really good football at times, we had to dig in and defend at times and we were tested across the back line at times. They do stretch your back line by switching the play early, and so we had to deal with that.
"I thought they adapted to things in the game too, problem-solving for themselves which was encouraging. There were so many elements that we can be pleased with. It was the digging in, sticking together and showing that we are a team that I was most proud of."
Carrick tempered his praise for his players by warning them that "it's going to take time" to reach the level of performance he demands. He added: "The boys touched on a bit of everything in our performance and I was really pleased. It's going to take time, but we keep striving to get better of course, and there was an improvement from Saturday. We need to keep getting better for sure."
