Can City dare to dream in 2026?

2025 HAS BEEN A ROLLERCOASTER

- By BARRY COOPER

Hull City's win with Cathal McCarthy

(HARRIET MASSEY/GETTY IMAGES)

Hull City ended the calendar year with a battling, gritty 1-0 win at rivals Middlesbrough to extend their unbeaten run to five matches, and gain some revenge for the battering handed to them by the same opposition only three weeks ago.

In a typically strange football quirk, the game was completely different to the one where Boro won 4-1 at the start of the month, with City proving to be stubborn, awkward opposition.

And from the moment Darko Gyabi fired in after 12 minutes, it proved to be a lead the hosts could not cancel out, leaving the Tigers to revel in a fourth win in five as they moved to within two points of Boro in second place.

We've said all season that 1-0 wins would be precious, that they're the type of results that win you promotion.

Since that humbling at home to Boro, the Tigers have kept three clean sheets in their last five matches.

They've ground out wins over Wrexham, West Brom and now Boro without conceding a goal. That's huge progress for a team that was as leaky as a colander before that.