Hull City beat Aston Villa 2-0 at the KC Stadium this evening to leapfrog their opponents in the Premier League table and climb out of the relegation zone in the process.

The Tigers took the lead with a quarter of the game gone through Nikica Jelavic's heavily-deflected effort, which found its way past Brad Guzan via the boot of Ciaran Clark.

It was an uninspiring game overall with chances kept to a bare minimum for both of these struggling sides, but in the end Dame N'Doye sealed things with a goal on his first start for the Tigers, finding the target at the second attempt to see off the opposition.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look back at how both sets of players performed across the 90 minutes of action on Humberside.

HULL CITY

Goal

Allan McGregor: Had just a couple of simple stops to contend with up until the closing stages, at which point he produced a fine double save to first deny Westwood and then Benteke's follow-up. For that alone this clean sheet was well deserved. (7/10)

Defence

Ahmed Elmohamady: Not as dangerous as he was in spells against Manchester City last time out, although he still provides a real engine down that right-hand side. End product was not always there, though. (7/10)

Michael Dawson: Did not have a great deal to contend with in fairness, although he pressured Benteke when the Belgian was through on goal 15 minutes from time, forcing him into rushing a shot which was easy for McGregor to handle. (6/10)

Alex Bruce: Likewise, it was a quiet evening on the whole for Bruce up against a potent Villa attack. His block on Cissokho's strike highlighted just how committed he is to the cause. (6/10)

Paul McShane: Back into the fold in recent outings following a falling-out with his manager in November, McShane can once more be delighted with his showing having kept a rare clean sheet. Received high praise from Steve Bruce at the weekend, so expect him to stay at the back for the next outing. (6/10)

Robbie Brady: An interesting battle against Gil down his flank, which you have to say he got the better of bar some early twisting and turning. Probably should have buried his strike when given a rare sight of goal while the game was at 1-0. (6/10)

Midfield

Tom Huddlestone: He has looked much improved over this past week, which may potentially be down to Mike Phelan's input on the training field. Either way, something has certainly changed because the Englishman is slowly getting back to his best. (7/10)

David Meyler: Did little to shine in a game bereft of any real moments of quality. That said, he can be happy with his overall showing having played his part in keeping out the opposition. (6/10)

Jake Livermore: Fantastic workrate in the middle of the field, which the Hull supporters clearly appreciated judging by the applause he received when leaving the field late on. (7/10)

Attack

Nikica Jelavic: One shot, one goal - what else do you want from your striker? The Croatian forward is still returning to full fitness from a recent injury layoff, but his link-up play with new signing N'Doye this evening was hugely promising from a Hull perspective. (7/10)

Dame N'Doye: The best player on the field on what was his first start for the Tigers. Used his strength to great effect and played in Jelavic for the opener, before sealing the points with a goal on his home debut to round off a sparkling display. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to supporters of a new club. (8/10)

Substitutes

Abel Hernandez: Given just a few minutes to help see out the game at the end, in which time he was barely involved. (5/10)

Gaston Ramirez: He will be disappointed to have been left out from the start tonight, although he was given 25 minutes to make an impact, doing just that to help create the second goal by winning a key header inside the box. (7/10)

Stephen Quinn: Thrown on for all of five seconds at the end of the contest, Quinn will be hoping for more game time than this in the coming weeks. (5/10)

ASTON VILLA

Goal

Brad Guzan: Was unlucky with the second goal, keeping out N'Doye's initial effort but failing to get to the follow-up in time. Did not do a lot wrong on the night and is one of the rare few who can hold his head up high. (6/10)

Defence

Alan Hutton: Linked up with Gil on a few occasions down the right-hand side, but it is hard to remember him doing a great deal to help his side grow into the game. (5/10)

Jores Okore: Will perhaps be disappointed not to have done more to keep out the first goal, being outmuscled by N'Doye in the build-up, but Villa's problems do not lie with the defence. (6/10)

Ciaran Clark: Hugely unlucky with the manner in which he conceded the opener, with the ball deflecting off his boot and beyond Guzan. Looked solid enough on the whole, although he was wasteful with a few passes out of defence. (5/10)

Aly Cissokho: Provided the Villans with one of their finest moments of the match when he fired away a shot from close range, forcing Bruce into making a solid block. Still did not offer enough in attack or defence, though, particularly wasteful when it came to crossing. (4/10)

Midfield

Carles Gil: Looked very promising early on for the visitors, and appeared to be the only one who could potentially make something happen. Did not happen for him in the end, however, and his deliveries from set pieces were nothing short of abysmal at times. (6/10)

Ashley Westwood: Looked decent enough in midfield, although he saved his only real moment of quality until the closing stages with a long-range strike which forced McGregor into action. (6/10)

Fabian Delph: There is no denying the England international's quality, and he once more gave 100% commitment to the cause, but he just was not on his game this evening which is largely why Villa were off song. (6/10)

Scott Sinclair: Handed his first start for the West Midlands outfit in what was the only change by manager Paul Lambert. It was clear to see that this was his first start in more than a year with more surely to come as he gets some minutes under his belt. (5/10)

Attack

Andreas Weimann: Hard to remember him doing anything of note, which goes a long way to explaining why Lambert hauled him off at the interval in place of Benteke. (4/10)

Gabriel Agbonlahor: Much like his teammates in attack, this was certainly another day to forget for the speedy forward. He did show huge drive to chase back and attempt to win the ball back off Jelavic, and that fighting spirit should not go amiss in a side battling relegation. (5/10)

Substitutes

Christian Benteke: For the second game in a row Benteke found himself on the Villa bench, and that tells in his lack of confidence. Needs a goal or two in order to return to his goalscoring form of last season, yet until that comes Lambert is left in a difficult position. (5/10)

Joe Cole: With Villa chasing a goal Cole was brought on from the bench to help his side turn things around. He did little to do so, the game pretty much passing him by during his 30-minute appearance. (5/10)