THERE was not too much of the riotous fun which arrived at the MKM Stadium when Hull City gave Everton an almighty scare in front of the TV cameras in last season’s FA Cup third-round - but the hosts could not be accused of having a go neither.

Despite not creating chances in the second half - and trailing 1-0 - the game was still live in the dying stages.

Top-scorer Oscar Estupinan saw a header tipped over by Marek Rodak. Hull were pushing and certainly going out by the front door at least and not the back.

With bodies upfield for a corner, including keeper Matt Ingram, the hosts got their pocket picked by an East Yorkshireman in Dan James, with the Leeds United loanee netting as Hull bodies were caught stranded upfield to seal the deal.

Hull City player Callum Elder breaks through the Fulham defence. Picture: Simon Hulme

There was no shame in that for Hull at least.

Their run without a home win in all competitions has now extended to seven games since October 5, but there were positives for Liam Rosenior here.

Out of the cup yes, but Hull appear to be going the right way again.

Hull made eight changes in personnel and Fulham were also far from sparing in that regard. But any fears that this would be a low-grade contest lacking flow were soon dispelled, mainly thanks to the intensity shown by the hosts from the off.

The press was good, allied to the appetite and movement, with Fulham’s unconvincing backline spooked by a moment early on which should have seen Hull lead.

It was the sort of opportunity that every EFL side craves against Premier League opponents.

A short back-pass from Bobby Decordova-Reid, who looked every inch a forward converted into a defender, was seized upon by Harvey Vale, who surged clear.

Unfortunately, the Chelsea loanee, on his home debut, then spoiled it somewhat, probing the ball wide of the gaping goal.

Creditably, Hull did not let the moment get them down and they continued to get in Fulham’s faces and not let them settle.

Tyler Smith almost got on the end of a centre from Xavier Simons, making his full debut, at the back post. While the offside flag was raised, the passage of play was still encouraging.

Hull’s application and tactics reflected well on the training ground work done by Rosenior and his team at Cottingham.

But after a sluggish start, Fulham started to find a way into the game, from the half-hour mark.

A couple of warnings arrived before the breakthrough.

A lay-off from Carlos Vinicius found Andreas Pereira, whose rising shot was tipped over by Matt Ingram, with the former Manchester United player then firing a half-volley just over after good work down the left from Hull lad Daniel James and ex-Tigers midfielder Tom Cairney.

A clever disguise pass from the latter helped unhinge Hull for Fulham’s opener.

Ex City loanee Harry Wilson cut inside, as is his wont, and unleashed a curler which Ingram could only parry into the path of Layvin Kurzawa, who tucked away the loose ball as City appealed in vain for the offside flag.

In the Frenchman’s second game in England, he had a bonus by way of his first goal.

On the restart, Hull got in some promising positions, but Fulham looked like a side who’d had their warning in the opening half-hour and started to control the tempo, led by an elegant central midfield pivot in Harrison Reed.There was an element of control, with Cairney and Reed dictating the middle ground, with the Cottagers being reasonably comfortable, certainly more so than early on.

Debutant Aaron Connolly was called on as were top-scorer Oscar Estupinan and Benjamin Tetteh -handed his first action since September 4 after an injury lay-off just over ten minutes later.

The changes were bought into by the crowd. Hull suddenly started to find some threatening situations, but their final ball and option let them down.

They persisted while at the other end, James - more involved in the second half - tested Ingram with a stinging shot.

A chance came for Connolly after McLoughlin’s header across goal, but a linesman’s flag nipped any fun in the bud - although we did have fun and games late on.

Hull City: Ingram, Coyle, Figueiredo, McLoughlin, Elder, Woods, Simons (Estupinan 72); Docherty (C Jones 83), Tufan (Slater 61), Vale (Connolly 61); Smith (Tetteh 72). Substitutes unused: Lo-Tutala, Greaves, A Jones, Christie.

Fulham: Rodak; De Cordova-Reid (Tete 72), Diop, Adarabioyo, Kurzawa (Robinson 76); Reed (Chalobah 87), Cairney; Wilson (Soloman 76), Pereira (Palhinha 72), James, Vinicius. Substitutes unused: Leno, Ream, Macfarlane, Harris.

Attendance: 14,175.

Hull City 0 Fulham 2: Tigers bow out as Dan James nets on East Yorkshire return, but hosts go down fighting