Hull City 2-2 West Ham United

A slow-starting game at the KC Stadium turned into a thriller

• Hernandez scores on Hull debut

• Valencia nets on first West Ham league start

• Song only named on bench for away side

• West Ham two wins in 10 league games

West Ham produced a spirited fightback to twice come from behind and deny Hull City victory at the KC Stadium.

Club record £10m buy Abel Hernandez gave Hull the lead with a header before Enner Valencia equalised with a spectacular 25-yard strike.

Mo Diame, also making his debut, restored Hull's lead against his old club, only for Curtis Davies to divert Diafra Sakho's shot into his own net.

Hull's Michael Dawson headed against his own bar in the dying moments.

It left West Ham boss Sam Allardyce holding his head in his hands - and it means the Hammers have now won only two of their last 10 league games, a run stretching into last season.

But Allardyce, who opted to start with new loan signing Alex Song on the bench, will be encouraged by the way his side battled to secure a point that lifts his side two places to 13th.

Hull, who also climb two places to 10th, came into the game amid an unsettled period that has seen chairman Assem Allam announce that the club has been up for sale for several months, and boss Steve Bruce linked with Newcastle, where manager Alan Pardew is under pressure.

But the Tigers took the initiative when Hernandez - a deadline-day signing from Italian side Palermo - connected with Ahmed Elmohamady's 39th-minute cross to beat Adrian.

Hull fans were still chanting the lively Uruguay forward's name when he almost doubled the lead with a ferocious 25-yard shot that rattled the bar.

West Ham's best chance of a first half that started slowly before bursting into life fell to Sakho, home keeper Allan McGregor producing a one-handed save from point-blank range to deny the Senegal forward.

But there was nothing McGregor could do to keep out Valencia's ruthless 50th-minute finish as the Ecuador striker marked his first Premier League start with a goal to remember.

He picked the ball up in relatively safe territory, but Dawson's reluctance to close him down allowed him to work his way into range, before crashing home an unstoppable effort.

Even Hull boss Bruce described Valencia's exquisite finish as a "wonder goal", while Allardyce could not contain his delight as he celebrated on the touchline.

Yet West Ham trailed again when Diame, who left Upton Park this month after 71 top-flight appearances, was allowed to run into the area unchallenged before picking his spot.

But the visitors levelled a thrilling encounter when Davies put through his own net while trying to clear Sakho's low shot.

Still the drama was not over as West Ham came close to snatching all three points.

Valencia's stoppage-time downward header struck Dawson on the chest before hitting the bar, much to the relief of the home fans.

Abel Hernandez (left) made two appearances for Uruguay at the 2014 Fifa World Cup

West Ham's Enner Valencia signed a five-year contract when joining from Mexican club Pachuca

Mo Diame scores for Hull against his former club West Ham

This was West Ham's first Premier League draw since a goalless encounter at Chelsea on 29 January

Hull City manager Steve Bruce has been linked with Newcastle United