Every recovery needs a first step and Hull City will hope theirs was made under the Ashton Gate floodlights on Tuesday night. Fortunes in the EFL Cup are unlikely to define a season but a 2-1 win at Bristol City was not short on significance.
"You can see in the dressing room that a win is a win," said head coach Mike Phelan. "It means a lot for confidence. We've shown we can football matches again."
Repeating the trick at Watford on Saturday will be an altogether stiffer test than squeezing past an under-strength Championship side, but the rot threatening to take hold of City's season has been stopped ahead of travelling to Vicarage Road.