Jon Rowe and Christian Fassnacht lifted Norwich to their first win of 2024 as Hull missed a chance to move into the Sky Bet Championship play-offs.
Rowe took his tally for the season to a dozen in all competitions and underlined why several Premier League clubs are rumoured to be sniffing around him with a breathtaking individual first-half goal.
Fassnacht came off the bench to net in the 88th minute and while Tyler Morton pulled one back in added-on time, Norwich held on for the final few moments to record a 2-1 win – their first in five matches.
The Canaries now sit just one point and place behind seventh-placed Hull, who only really sprang into action in the final half hour at the MKM Stadium.
They started brightly but were met with robust resistance from Norwich, with two bruising challenges on Aaron Connolly leading to Billy Sharp being brought on within a quarter of an hour.
Borja Sainz should have done better with the first clear cut chance as he lifted over with only Hull goalkeeper Ryan Allsop to beat while Scott Twine was similarly wayward at the other end.
A moment of magic was needed to enliven a drab affair and Rowe, who has been linked with West Ham and Aston Villa in the January transfer window, provided it in the 36th minute.
After nudging Tyler Morton off the ball, Rowe jinked forwards, ghosted past a couple of opposition defenders and though space was running out and he was off-balance, the winger sent a shot with the outside of his right boot arcing past Allsop.
Norwich were perhaps fortunate to still have their full complement by then as a couple of minutes earlier, Giannoulis was only yellow carded for an apparent swing of the arm at Coyle.
Hull’s sense of injustice rose after half-time as Ozan Tufan and Twine were booked for simulation within moments of each other although the former grazed the post from just outside the area.
A sustained spell of Hull pressure followed but it still took until the 65th minute for them to test Angus Gunn, who did brilliantly to parry away Sharp’s snapshot inside the area.
Sharp’s effort from 20 yards seemed destined for the top corner but was pushed away by Gunn, which seemed decisive when Fassnacht, who replaced Rowe in the 81st minute, reacted quickest at the back post to convert with his thigh from Onel Hernandez’s teasing cross.
Morton set up a grandstand finish in the first minute of injury-time by rifling home from 25 yards as Gunn was finally beaten, but Norwich clung on.
