Birmingham boss John Eustace praised his players for maintaining their focus despite a delayed kick-off to the 2-0 win at Hull because of a problem with one of the goals.

Referee Leigh Doughty had spotted the goal at the North Stand end of the MKM Stadium was two inches too tall but Birmingham did not let that bother them.

Birmingham’s goals came courtesy of a Troy Deeney penalty in the first half and Juninho Bacuna’s long-range shot early in the second.

Of the delay, Eustace said: “It probably helped us, we got a little bit more focused.

“I thought the first 20 minutes we were very good. But when we scored we gave Hull too much possession.

“The lads policed it themselves at half-time. We were giving them the ball back too easily in the first half but we were much better in the second half.

“The most pleasing thing was the way the group policed themselves at half-time.”

Eustace praised his team for their display, adding: “I am very pleased. I thought it was a very professional performance against a tough team.

“They’ve got a really good record at home. Very pleased to get the three points.

“We want to be very competitive with the way we play and everyone knows their jobs. We made two changes from last week and the lads who have come in have done well.”

Birmingham had not won at Hull since 2009 but they did not have to do much to end that run against the Tigers.

Cyrus Christie was at fault after 13 minutes when he fouled Krystian Bielik at a corner and Deeney stepped up to fire into the roof of the net for his second goal of the campaign.

Bacuna had tested Nathan Baxter in the first half and made no mistake two minutes after the break when his shot from 25 yards gave the keeper no chance.

Deeney missed the chance to score a third, firing another spot-kick over after Baxter brought down Tahith Chong.

Hull caretaker boss Andy Dawson called on his players to give more as he felt their second-half performance was lacking the determination they had shown in the first period.

Dawson said: “First half I was really pleased with the boys. The intensity of our play in and out of possession. Whenever they went long we were in good positions to win first and second balls.

“We gave a really poor goal away which is a theme with us. We have to do better. It was a penalty there were no arguments there.

“I was pleased with the first half I have got to say but the second half was the opposite to that.”

Dawson admitted Hull were punished when Birmingham hit them on the break for their second goal.

He said: “If you are not going to do the hard yards you are going to struggle. Not sprinting back and running, if you don’t do that in a game of football at whatever level you play you won’t win.

“We have to learn and learn quickly. The Championship is relentless and we have to work hard for everything we are going to get.”