Hull moved above Oxford in the Sky Bet Championship table with a crucial 2-1 win at the MKM Stadium.
Goalkeeper Jamie Cumming’s terrible 76th-minute gaffe, which was awarded as an own goal, proved the defining incident as the Tigers powered back from a 1-0 deficit.
Gustavo Puerto’s strike along the left byline appeared innocuous, but Cumming somehow allowed the ball to skid off his right shin and into the net at his near post.
Oxford’s frustrating winless run – they have now not claimed a victory in nine games – looked to have reached an end when Michal Helik brilliant volleyed home Matt Phillips’ corner after 66 minutes.
But Hull, who were reduced to 10 men when Puerto was dismissed deep into stoppage time, equalised seven minutes later when Joe Gelhardt flicked Kacey Palmer’s sharp through-ball into the bottom-right corner.
Cumming’s own goal means Oxford are now just four points clear of the relegation zone.
And they can have few complaints about the scoreline given how little they showed from an offensive perspective.
Hull were hardly dynamic, either, but they dominated possession for most of the game.
Yet the visitors were seldom flustered in a dour first half and even created the first meaningful chance after 17 minutes.
Phillips whipped across a teasing free-kick on the right flank, from which Elliott Moore headed just wide of the right post.
The Oxford captain should at least have tested Ivor Pandur but that chance signalled a fleeting shift in momentum to the game.
Pandur was called upon six minutes later when Will Vaulks let rip with a low free-kick from distance, but Hull’s goalkeeper was well positioned to parry the ball to safety at his right post.
The home side responded soon afterwards when Lewie Coyle volleyed just wide from Gelhardt’s clipped cross from the right.
Gelhardt was also the architect of Hull’s best chance before the interval when he charged towards the penalty box from a central position.
The Leeds loan signing’s strong strike was goalbound, but well saved by Cumming, who was also alert to Matt Crooks’ follow-up.
The start to the second half mirrored that of the first, in that Hull saw plenty of the football but had little to show for the endeavours.
Gelhardt should, however, have done much better after 58 minutes when he skewed over the crossbar from a decent position after good work from Abu Kamara on the right.
But the 22-year-old was by far Hull’s best attacking outlet and did particularly well to keep cool with the equalising goal following Helik’s fantastic opener.
Suitably inspired, the home side somehow seized the initiative which will no doubt play on Cumming’s mind for weeks to come.
His embarrassment, however, could have been soothed after 87 minutes when substitute Przemyslaw Placheta struck the crossbar following another well-worked set-piece.
Puerto was shown a second yellow card for an alleged dive late on but Oxford could find no way back and have much to think about if the threat of relegation is to be averted any time soon.
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