There hasn't been much luck going the way of Hull City in recent months, but thankfully, there was a little bit going their way at Millwall on Saturday.

A keenly fought, scrappy game was decided by Jake Cooper's own goal just before the hour to give Ruben Selles a third win as City boss and second on the spin away from home.

It also saw the Tigers back up that precious point against Leeds United in their last Championship outing, and it sets them up nicely for a week which sees City host QPR on Tuesday night before that mouthwatering Yorkshire derby at Sheffield United in front of the television cameras next Friday.

READ MORE: Hull City boss explains Ryan Giles and Ryan Longman absences amid transfer expectations

READ MORE: Steve Bruce sends 'not getting anyone better' endorsement of Hull City's incoming £2.5m signing

Here, City reporter Barry Cooper looks back on a terrific away day by the Thames...

A battling display

This was everything fans want to see from their side, especially when they're struggling at the wrong end of the table. Their display did not lack for heart, character or bravery, and it will be those traits that get them up the table and away from danger in the coming weeks.

It might have been a game low on quality in the final third, but City still looked like a greater threat and should have made more with Abu Kamara and Regan Slater's chances in either half.

Ultimately, though, Ruben Selles' side showed a huge heart to deal with what a trip to Millwall throws at you, and to become the first City team to win there since 2013 is something to be proud of.

A big week ahead

Not just on the pitch with a home game against QPR on Tuesday and then the small matter of Sheffield United next Friday evening.

Off the pitch, the Tigers will hope to have more new arrivals in the door. Kyle Joseph is set to train for the first time on Monday after a £2.5m deal was agreed with Blackpool, while Lincoln Henrique will have his medical on Monday.

They'll also hope for a breakthrough in their quest to add further to their ranks, both at the back and further up the pitch, while going the other way, they'll hope for progress on Ryan Giles' move to Middlesbrough, Ryan Longman's Oxford United switch along with Chris Bedia and Anthony Racioppi's respective exits.

Defensive resolve

They've been much-maligned throughout this season for their flaccid defending, and rightly so, because, at times, it's been awful.

While Selles, by his own admission, is an attack-minded manager and not one known for his clean sheets, he has toughened the Tigers up at the back. Aside from that pulsating Leeds game, his side have only conceded more than one in just one league outing - at Coventry.

That's two clean sheets in back-to-back away games now, and it's giving them the solid foundation we have craved for so long, and because of that, they've won the game.

It was a makeshift back four with Sean McLoughlin playing at left-back for the first time in four years, while Fin Burns was starting his first game since September. There was also a new goalkeeper in between the posts, and then the skipper - Lewie Coyle - went off injured early on, but they all played their part to limit Millwall to almost nothing.

The challenge now is to keep that going, and if they can, they'll have a great chance of putting more results like this together.

Alzate's brilliance

The midfielder is just a class act on the ball and his Premier League quality shows. This was another dominant display in the heart of the engine room. His movement and reading of the game oozes quality.

While City's transfer strategy has been criticised over time, and they have signed a few duds here and there, Alzate on a free transfer looks like a really astute piece of business.

He won seven tackles, he won seven aerial duels and was so influential in everything that City did in a game that turned into a big scrap, which it always does at Millwall.

He's certainly becoming one of Selles' most important players, and if City are to go and survive this season, he will play a fundamental part in that. He's a pleasure to watch.

The picture at the bottom

While fans will be frustrated to see wins for Cardiff City and Portsmouth, results from those above mean City have dragged a host of clubs firmly into the thick of the relegation battle.

Luton Town are now in the bottom three and didn't get that new manager bounce against Preston, while Derby County's 2-0 home defeat to Watford drags them to within a point of the bottom three, while Stoke are only a couple of points ahead and even Millwall on 30 are far from out of the woods.

One for the fans

Almost 1,700 fans made the long, long trek from East Yorkshire to South London for an early kick-off, and while free transport laid on from the club swelled that number significantly, those supporters still needed to buy tickets and bother getting up at stupid o'clock to travel.

And they were well rewarded. For fans of most clubs away from the top Premier League sides, following your team up and down the country can be challenging. Away from home, especially, you might not see too many wins, but away days like that are the ones you remember, and the ones that make all the others worthwhile.

A long, long way from home, your team at the bottom end of the league without much to cheer about, winning away with the goal scored at your end, is what it's all about, and Selles was right to mention that at the end of the game. Fans pay an awful lot of money, spend a lot of time and effort to go and watch their side play, and this was a reward for that backing.