Assem Allam’s decision-making might be questionable on one certain issue but his backing for Steve Bruce in the transfer market can only be admired.

Hull’s owner has split opinion with his plan to rename the club Hull Tigers and the extent to which fans are divided will be known when season ticket holders vote on the matter this week.

But he put his hand in his pocket in January, allowing manager Steve Bruce to buy strikers Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic for a combined £14m and both have begun to pay off.

On this occasion, almost inevitably, it was Long who starred, condemning his former club to a damaging defeat as he won a controversial penalty before scoring his third goal for the club.

After an even first half hour, Long chased a lost cause and won possession in the penalty area but took a tumble under pressure from Craig Dawson.

The Hull man bounced straight back up. There were no appeals for a penalty but ref Chris Foy awarded one anyway.

Hull manager Bruce defended Long, saying: ‘Longy’s never going to dive, he’s a genuine lad.

‘He moves at such a speed that even the slightest contact means he’s going to go down. The ref is 10 yards away, so he’s obviously seen or heard contact.’

Nikica Jelavic’s spot-kick was tame and Ben Foster dived to his right to keep it out but defender Liam Rosenior arrived first to head in his first for the club.

Five minutes later, Hull doubled their lead.

Jake Livermore hooked the ball into the box and Long pounced to volley home from Curtis Davies’s knock down.

Long refused to celebrate but that didn’t stop the Baggies fans hurling abuse at their old hero.

Many were astonished that Albion allowed Long to leave and Bruce said: ‘We were surprised to get him because I thought there would be more competition for him.

‘It’s not for me to say whether West Brom were right to sell him or not but we’re just delighted to get him.’

‘The two strikers came in at just the right time and have given the whole club a boost.

‘We didn’t play well today by any stretch of the imagination but if you have got that bit of quality at the top end of the pitch they can create something and they will always be a handful with the attitude they’ve got.’

West Brom boss Pepe Mel criticised the penalty decision and said he believed his side should have been awarded one in the second half when James Morrison fell under a challenge in the box.

The result leaves his side three points and two places above the drop zone and fighting to restore the feelgood factor generated by last week’s win at Swansea.

Mel said: ‘I think it was a bad decision by the referee, and in the second half there was the same situation in the other box and the referee missed it.’

Albion’s second-half response was tepid and, while they controlled possession, they never looked like getting back into it as Hull, led by another former Albion hero in Curtis Davies, stood firm.

It means Mel has won just once in nine matches but the Spaniard says Albion’s fate is still in their own hands.

‘It is because there are four teams below us,’ Mel said.

‘In the Premier League, the table changes every week, so we have to keep on going.

‘The next match (against Cardiff) is a big one for us.’

—Daily Mail