Hull City were seconds away from snatching a battling point against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night, only to succumb to a late, late winner.

The Tigers were well below par against Michael Carrick's play-off-chasing Boro but held firm until Alex Gilbert stepped off the bench to convert Delano Burgzorg's cross after he was allowed too much space to glide into the penalty area.

It was a result which left City again unable to build on a much-needed victory, and the prospect of facing title-chasing Leeds United at the MKM Stadium in a huge Yorkshire derby on Saturday afternoon.

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Here, City reporter Barry Cooper looks at the game's big talking points on a night that will leave the Tigers and boss Ruben Selles increasingly frustrated.

A game too far

After a busy festive period, this looked like a game too far for the Tigers and some of the players. It looked as though they would just be able to sneak through and grab a point which, given the circumstances, would have been a really good result, but their gas ran out at the cruellest of moments.

Boro, even with their injury problems, had so much quality on the bench, and when Carrick needed the likes of Ben Doak, Alex Gilbert and Burgzorg, they were there to answer the call. Selles just does not have that at his disposal, and that was costly.

And when you're in the final 30 seconds of a game you've got a valuable point from, you need players to do their jobs, track runners and not amble back without a care in the world, like we saw in the build-up to the winning goal. Not chasing back is not acceptable, and players must be held accountable,

Questions about the pitch

Ahh, yes, that old chestnut. It didn't look in great shape before the game kicked off after the warm-ups were completed. Especially at the North Stand end of the MKM Stadium, it was cutting up badly, and both sides were struggling underfoot.

City spent a lot of money on the playing surface in the summer, but the recent bad weather with the amount of water that has landed on it in recent days will have played a big part. With two more home games to come in quick succession, the groundstaff will be hoping for a quiet spell and some dry weather to give it a bit of a breather.

Another injury blow

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, Ryan Longman goes down with a groin problem. After scoring the winning goal at Ewood Park on Sunday, Longman would have come into the game in good spirits and would have provided City with some much-needed energy, and threat, but it's the theme of the season and is the running undercurrent, which is undermining their progress.

Longman is set to move on in the window, assuming he's recovered from the groin problem he picked up in the closing stages after scoring that goal on Sunday.

Take Carl Rushworth, Charlie Hughes, Kasey Palmer, Oscar Zambrano, Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi out of any team in this league, and they're going to feel it, and frankly, it's crippled City.

Step into the window

We've said it before and we'll say it again, this window is hugely important for City. Selles has made the Tigers far more organised, and competitive than they were before. This would have been a good point given the context of how the game played out, but as mentioned above, the lack of quality in key areas was there for all to see, and that must be remedied in the next few weeks.

Boro were bringing Ben Doak off the bench, and Selles brought on Harry Vaughan - and that is meant with absolutely no disrespect to the former Oldham youngster, but he's not played for the first in a whole year. The depth of quality in their squad is not there, and it's naturally having an impact.

The list of absentees is well-documented and is a mitigating factor, in part, as to why we are where we are, so Acun Ilicali must back Selles with the players who can ease the pressure and help turn the screw in their favour.

Alzate catches the eye, again

Amid the negative narrative surrounding a disappointing defeat 30 seconds from time, the performance of Steven Alzate was another real plus point for the Tigers.

He's been a real find amid a summer of muddled recruitment and on a free transfer, too. Moving forward, Alzate is a player who Selles should look his midfield unit around, because he has the attributes - the movement, the vision, the reading of the game - to be a real success.

We know the club are looking for a number six to replace the banned Oscar Zambrano, but in Alzate, they have a player capable of making that role his own, with Xavier Simons there to compete for that spot, so perhaps the club could channel their focus elsewhere.