Hull City 3-1 Bournemouth

Abel Hernandez's goals were his third and fourth of the season in all competitions

New boss Marco Silva guided Hull City to victory in his first Premier League match as the Tigers moved off the foot of the table with an impressive performance against Bournemouth.

Abel Hernandez was the hero for the hosts, scoring twice on his first start since injuring his groin against Southampton on 6 November.

That match against the Saints was the final league victory under Silva's predecessor Mike Phelan, who was dismissed on 3 January with the team bottom of the league.

Hull have now won twice in three games under former Olympiakos and Sporting Lisbon boss Silva, having beaten Swansea in the FA Cup third round a week ago.

Tyrone Mings' own goal added gloss to the scoreline for Hull, who took a long time to grow into the match after falling behind to Junior Stanislas' third-minute penalty, awarded for Harry Maguire's challenge on Ryan Fraser and the 10th the Tigers have conceded in 21 games this season.

Bournemouth have now shipped three goals in eight of their last 10 games in all competitions, and drop to 11th place after their 10th defeat of the campaign.

• Relive the action from the KCOM Stadium

• Reaction to all of Saturday's games

Hernandez shows what Hull have been missing

It has been a bleak winter for Hull so far and the loss of £10m striker Hernandez to injury certainly contributed to their plight.

The Tigers went nine games without a win during his absence, dropping them to the bottom of the table by Christmas and culminating in the departure of Phelan early in the new year.

His return has coincided with the appointment of Silva, and it has quickly become apparent that the influence of both could prove vital in turning Hull's season around.

The 26-year-old's goal against Swansea in the cup was a timely reminder of the ability that brought him 20 goals in Hull's promotion campaign last season, and his first against Bournemouth bore all the predatory instincts that the hosts have been missing these past few weeks.

Huge credit must go to Andrew Robertson for the quality of his cross from the left wing, which presented Hernandez with a headed chance from around a yard out that he simply could not miss.

The second was more of a self-made effort, the Uruguay international picking the ball up on the right, advancing into the area and selling a couple of cute stepovers to Mings before curling a precise finish into the left-hand corner.

Concerns grow for leaky Cherries

It was a huge result for Hull but also a significant one for the visitors, who have now conceded 24 goals in their last 10 league and cup games.

Their mid-table position - and nine-point gap to the drop zone - means Bournemouth have some wiggle room as they bid to shore up at the back.

But they cannot continue to leak goals at the present rate and not expect to find themselves flirting with danger at the end of the season.

Hull's third goal here was certainly unfortunate - Mings diverting in Tom Huddlestone's hopeful shot from the edge of the area - but nevertheless continues a sequence of results that is clearly worrying boss Eddie Howe, who conceded that there was a "pattern emerging".

Man of the match - Abel Hernandez (Hull City)

An easy choice. Hull started abysmally and it took Hernandez's opening goal to shake them from their lethargy and produce an ultimately impressive performance. His second goal, meanwhile, was far and away the best moment of the match in terms of technique and composure

'My players are smiling - that's important'

Hull head coach Marco Silva: "I'm happy because what I saw was a team with big spirit and big character. That's important for me.

"After 10-15 minutes it was difficult, but we started to control the game and put the other team back. The first 25-30 minutes of the second half it was all our team.

"I start to see [progress]. We have time next week to work more and the players now believe more in our ideas.

"I saw my players smile in the dressing room and that's important for me."

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe: "We got the perfect start and from that point we were looking to consolidate and then it slipped away. The second half was tough to watch.

"The frustrating thing is we didn't go for the game to try and put it to bed.

"We're disappointed with all three goals. We're in the middle of the season and we have everything to play for, Our season could still go two ways."

Hull end barren run - match stats

• Hull enjoyed their first win in their last 10 Premier League games (D3 L6).

• Bournemouth have conceded exactly three goals in seven of their last nine top-flight games.

• Eddie Howe's side have registered just two wins in their last 13 top-flight away games, drawing two and losing nine.

• Artur Boruc is the fourth Polish player to make 100 Premier League appearances (also Wojciech Szczesny 132, Jerzy Dudek 127 and Lukas Fabianski 127).

• Ryan Fraser has won three penalties in the Premier League this season, a joint-high figure (level with Dele Alli and Christian Benteke).

• Junior Stanislas has been involved in 14 Premier League goals for Bournemouth (seven goals, seven assists), a joint high along with team-mate Charlie Daniels.

• Abel Hernandez netted a brace in this game, as many goals as in his previous 30 Premier League appearances.

• Robert Snodgrass has been directly involved in 10 of Hull's 20 Premier League goals this season (seven goals, three assists).

What's next?

Hull are back in Premier League action on Sunday, 22 January with a tough trip to Stamford Bridge to face leaders Chelsea (16:30 GMT), while Bournemouth host Watford on Saturday, 21 January (15:00 GMT).