HULL City captain Robert Koren stepped off the bench to head home a priceless winner for Hull City at Ipswich, with their 2-1 win taking them six points clear of Watford in the race for automatic promotion.
Koren had been left on the bench by boss Steve Bruce, who opted for a workmanlike midfield with Corry Evans, David Meyler and Stephen Quinn at the heart of the Tigers side.
But it was Koren, who came on with the scores locked at 1-1 in the 74th minute, who netted a goal which looks massive in terms of City's bid to return to the Premier League.
Robbie Brady had described his winner against Middlesbrough last weekend as the most important of his career, but that will now be relegated to second spot after he slotted home a crucial penalty in the 27th minute which gave City the lead they deserved.
Bruce's men had dominated from the first kick as they went in search of an 11th away win of the season.
Led superbly by the returning Meyler, who had replaced Koren, and Evans in midfield, the Tigers took the game to their hosts and dominated possession, camped in the Ipswich half for long periods.
Captain Jack Hobbs fired over when a corner fell his way in the box in the 7th minute, before George Boyd wasted a good position when allowing his cross to drift over the bar when in space in the area.
City almost took the lead in the 19th minute when Ahmed Elmohamady showed power and pace to outstrip Aaron Cresswell on the wing, and Richard Stearman almost beat his keeper Scott Loach when cushioning his cross with his chest.
The Tigers didn't have long to wait though to make their breakthrough, as Meyler made one of his many surging runs forward, and when nudged by Guirane N'Daw in the box, he hit the deck and much to the anger of the home fans, referee Oliver Langford pointed to the spot.
Brady stepped up and showed a cool head to slot home and give the Tigers a 1-0 lead at the break.
Bruce will have stressed the need to maintain the tempo after the break, but they failed to do so, as Ipswich took the game to the Tigers, and levelled matters within 10 minutes, as substitute Anthony Wordsworth climbed above James Chester to head low past City's David Stockdale.
Fearing the game was in danger of slipping from City's grasp, Bruce replaced Evans with Fathi for the final 20 minutes as he sought to hold on to a valuable point, with Koren on soon after to replace Jay Simpson.
But still it was Mick McCarthy's men who came forward, and Tigers' keeper David Stockdale had to produce a wonderful save down to his left to prevent Daryl Murphy giving Town the lead, before then being called upon when racing to the edge of his box and challenge the onrushing Chopra.
However, having ridden the storm though, captain Koren was in the perfect place in the 83rd minute to head home Brady's cross and send the travelling fans wild.
News of Watford's loss at Peterborough made the win all the more important, as City now have a six-point advantage with four to play.
• Bruce: We're in a wonderful position
