ONE relegation-threatened opponent being ripped apart by an absentee owner down, one more to come at the weekend. You could argue that Middlesbrough won’t meet opponents as lightweight or limited as Hull City every week, but then they find themselves up against Sunderland in three days’ time. Play like this on Saturday, and it will almost certainly be six points out of six.

Boro limbered up for the Wear-Tees derby with one of their easiest assignments of the season, and will head to the Stadium of Light within two points of a play-off position if Bristol City slip up in tonight’s promotion battle with Fulham.

Just as significantly, they will make the short trip up the A19 with some of their key players finally rediscovering their best form. Rudy Gestede’s two goals, the second of which came courtesy of an impudent back-heel flick, trebled his league tally for the season, while Patrick Bamford’s strike on the stroke of half-time betrayed a level of confidence that has not always been evident in the striker’s play this term.

Then, of course, there is Adama Traore, who had a hand in two of Boro’s goals and was a threat whenever he was able to run at the Hull defence from anywhere within the opposition’s half. Goodness knows what the Sunderland defence will make of him.

The quality of Boro’s attacking play meant they were not unduly troubled by the momentary lapse that allowed an unmarked Evandro to briefly fire Hull level four minutes before the break, and having bemoaned his side’s lack of goalscoring threat at Cardiff at the weekend, Pulis will have been relieved to see a much more clinical display. That said, however, Hull are on the brink of the bottom three for a reason.

They had looked every bit as bad as Boro subjected them to another 3-1 defeat at the KCOM Stadium in October, a match that proved a rare high point under Garry Monk. Ultimately, there were too few similar displays to justify the £50m kitty that was lavished on the former boss, although it would be stretching it to claim there has been a profound improvement under Pulis.

Last night’s victory means Pulis’ league record now reads won four, drawn one, lost four. Mid-table form, in other words, which is pretty much where Boro find themselves, even if the play-offs are still very much in reach.

The Teessiders look like a side still coming to terms with life under a new manager, although there is one obvious and glaring exception. Traore stands out like a diamond amongst rocks, and the best moments of last night’s game revolved around the winger.

Built like a boxer but boasting the grace of a prima ballerina, Traore elevated things above the mundane every time he was on the ball. An electric burst of pace would take him past two opponents in the blink of an eye, and while he wasn’t always able to deliver an end product to go with his dribbling, he has improved markedly on that score in the last few months.

He was integral to the two chances Boro carved out in the opening 16 minutes, both of which fell to Gestede, and one of which was converted.

It looked impossible for Traore to deliver a cross as he found himself tight to the byline early on, but after twisting this way and that, he stood up an excellent centre that Gestede headed against the outside of the left-hand post.

Eight minutes later, and while Hull’s defenders managed to get tighter to Traore, their focus on the winger meant they allowed Ryan Shotton to gallop clear on the overlap. Shotton crossed from the right, Bamford flicked the ball on, and an unmarked Gestede finally found the target as he claimed his first league goal since the middle of August.

Gestede’s continued presence in the starting line-up ahead of Britt Assombalonga has been questioned by a number of fans, but Pulis clearly values the target-man’s aerial presence. If he can add a few more goals to his tally in the next few weeks, he will establish an even firmer hold over his place in the starting XI.

Pulis’ plans for last night’s line-up had to be changed at the last minute when Ben Gibson took ill during the warm-up. Dael Fry stepped up to the starting line-up to partner Daniel Ayala, with the lesser-spotted Lewis Baker finding himself promoted to the bench.

Fry was making only his second league start since September, and while Boro were always the dominant force, they betrayed signs of frailties at the back. Picking up players from set-pieces was a recurring problem, and it proved their undoing as Hull fashioned an equaliser pretty much from nowhere four minutes before the break.

No one picked up Evandro as Jon Toral swept a corner towards the edge of the 18-yard box, and the Brazilian swept home an excellent side-footed finish that gave Darren Randolph no chance.

For all that it was superbly taken, Hull’s equaliser hardly provided a fair reflection of the game, and Boro deservedly reclaimed the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Bamford’s performance was something of a mixed bag, with his industrious approach often being undermined by a heavy touch, but he was assurance personified as he claimed only his second league goal of the campaign.

There was still plenty to do after he nipped in to intercept Ola Aina’s sloppy square ball to Michael Hector, but after sprinting clear of the Hull defence, he lifted an excellent finish over the onrushing Allan McGregor.

Having scored at the end of the first half, Boro almost conceded at the start of the second, but after Randolph saved from Fraizer Campbell, Will Keane shot wide when he should really have found the target.

That was a let off for the hosts, although it was Pulis’ side who continued to do most of the pressing after the break. Bamford whistled a low shot just wide of the upright after another barnstorming run from Traore, the industrious Mo Besic saw a close-range shot blocked, and from the resultant corner, Gestede narrowly failed to find the target with a volley.

The former Blackburn forward was not to be denied for long though, and he claimed his second goal of the night shortly before the hour mark after more superb work from Traore. Having burst past his opponent to reach the byline, Traore pulled the ball back towards the edge of the six-yard box, and Gestede produced an excellent back-heel flick to beat McGregor.