Faltering Leeds are seemingly destined for the Coca-Cola Championship play-offs after this defeat at Hull.

Kevin Blackwell's men needed three points from the Yorkshire derby to keep the heat on second-placed Sheffield United, who are now heavily odds-on to secure automatic promotion to the Barclays Premiership.

But this was a performance that will give their supporters sleepless nights for weeks to come after Jon Parkin's thumping header earned the Tigers three points which almost guarantees their survival in the Championship.

Peter Taylor's team showed more defensive organisation and greater potency in the final third of the field all afternoon but ultimately had Parkin to thank for earning them this fully-deserved victory.

Fondly nicknamed 'The Beast' by City supporters, the former Macclesfield forward terrorised Leeds' fragile defence all game and it came as no surprise when he put the gloss on a terrific individual performance with the winning goal 14 minutes before the final whistle.

By contrast to the rest of the contest, Leeds, who are now without a win in five league games, started brightly and nearly got off to a flyer after three minutes when Rob Hulse outmuscled Damien Delaney and lured the Hull centre-back into a clumsy challenge just outside the 18-yard box.

Eddie Lewis took the resulting free-kick which required a fine save from Boaz Myhill, who showed noteworthy dexterity to claw the ball away for a corner at the foot of his right post.

Hull soon recovered from their lackadaisical start and thought they had taken the lead four minutes later when Leeds failed to clear their lines and Parkin rammed home the loose ball with a powerful left-foot volley from an acute angle.

However, referee Eddie Alderton's assistant adjudged the striker to have been in an offside position and awarded a free-kick to Blackwell's men.

More dodgy Leeds defending then allowed Kevin Ellison to let rip with a dipping low drive which Neil Sullivan clung onto at the first attempt - albeit via Paul Butler's helpful deflection.

Hull continued to catch the eye and twice dissected the Leeds defence through Stuart Green and Parkin, who both found Sullivan on top of his game.

Leeds showed a modicum of improvement as the game wore on but, in similar vein to recent matches, found goalscoring chances hard to come by in a second half which was handicapped by a hailstorm of biblical proportions shortly after the restart.

The adverse playing conditions did not put Taylor's men off their stride and they again went close when Green's free-kick found Leon Cort, whose downward header amidst a sea of statuesque white shirts needed another excellent stop from Sullivan.

Leeds' goalkeeper could do nothing about Hull's winner, however, which arrived on the back of a sustained spell of pressure on United's flimsy rearguard.

Green was afforded far too much space on the right flank and steered the ball towards Parkin, who sent Leeds back to West Yorkshire - and back to the drawing-board - with a fierce header past Sullivan after 76 minutes.

Teams

Hull Myhill, Thelwell, Cort, Delaney, Rogers,Green (Paynter 84), Andrews, Welsh, Ellison (Elliott 71),Fagan, Parkin.

Subs Not Used: Duke, Duffy, Wiseman.

Booked: Parkin, Myhill.

Goals: Parkin 76.

Leeds Sullivan, Kelly, Butler, Gregan, Crainey, Douglas,Derry, Miller (Graham 77), Lewis (Healy 77), Hulse,Blake (Richardson 80).

Subs Not Used: Bennett, Kilgallon.

Booked: Gregan.

Att: 23,486

Ref: E Ilderton (Tyne & Wear).