THE KC Stadium had been waiting a long time for an afternoon such as this. After the toil of 2014, when just three wins were secured from 18 Premier League home games, the first fixture of a new year finally turned barren lands fertile for Hull City.
Dismantling Everton with the most complete performance of their season, the Tigers were back to their very best on home soil.
First-half goals from Ahmed Elmohamady and Nikica Jelavic earned three much needed points, but it was the manner of the Tigers' resounding victory that may yet stand as the turning point of a stuttering season.
Potential was realised over these 90 minutes to point optimistically towards brighter times in 2015.
Although Everton were a pale imitation of the side that finished fifth last season, this was nonetheless the day it all clicked into place for City.
Defensively sound, boisterous in midfield and sharp in attack, the Tigers have not looked better for months and months. You must go as far back as the 6-0 win over Fulham here a year ago, in fact, to find a performance and result as impressive.
Steve Bruce's positive rhetoric has felt strained at times during November and December, but a fourth win of the season will have wavering supporters buying back into his rigid belief that this season will end well. Its timing was immaculate.
The Premier League table suddenly provides further evidence, too. Up to 15th, their highest position since mid-November, City have built a two-point cushion over the bottom three ahead of Sunday's FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal.
No longer are the pressures quite so intense with a confident leap up to 19 points.
Yesterday's victory was also City's first in the Premier League in the month of January.
The previous 11 games in the opening month of the year had returned three draws and eight defeats, but a fourth season in the top flight already has the Tigers' squad strength counting. The only downside to yesterday's win were the serious injuries suffered by Andy Robertson and Liam Rosenior.
Albeit nursing a bug himself, Bruce was thrilled with his side's second win in three games.
"We've seen glimpses of it, we played very well at Sunderland and didn't do much wrong against Leicester, but from the first minute to the 90th, there was a determination about them that it was going to be our day," he said.
"Was it the most complete performance? It was the most convincing. We deserved to win the game by a country mile in my opinion."
And in the opinion of the 23,865 supporters, whose hangovers were blown away on a gust delivered by City.
The Tigers played with an enthusiasm that belied the demands of their Christmas campaign. A fourth game in 13 days found reserves that were always beyond a sluggish guest. City should have been ahead in the opening minutes when denied a clear penalty.
Gareth Barry, the same villain who should have seen red when the sides met at Goodison Park 16 months ago, clumsily fouled Abel Hernandez inside the Everton box but Kevin Friend saw fit to award only a free-kick. City raged and Jelavic ballooned the opportunity into the South Stand.
The recharged Hernandez was the pick of a bright bunch and gave Everton another scare soon after. Dispossessing Ross Barkley, he drove at the visitors and forced a diving save from Joel Robles.
Relative calm descended on a frenetic contest for a spell but City always appeared the more likely scorers. Hernandez was giving Barry a torrid time as a makeshift third centre-half and forced another save from Robles at his near post.
Not even the loss of Robertson to injury could interrupt the Tigers' impressive rhythm. Quite the opposite, in fact. His replacement Rosenior was the man who unlocked the Everton defence once and for all.
A searching cross from the left found Leighton Baines asleep and ghosting in was Elmohamady to nod in his first Premier League goal since the final fixture of 2013. The sense of relief was palpable as the KC celebrated its first City goal in over six hours of action.
Another, thankfully, was not as long in coming.
Ten minutes after breaking the deadlock, City doubled their lead through the Everton old boy. Jake Livermore's run in midfield set up Hernandez to hook a hopeful ball over the visitors' rotten defence and, breaking the offside trap, Jelavic raced clear.
The Croatia international kept his cool and chipped the exposed Robles with aplomb for his sixth of the season.
A shabby Everton side creaked under the weight of City's pressure. The tempo set by Livermore and Meyler was fierce, the problems caused by Jelavic and Hernandez relentless. The Toffees sucked.
City almost grabbed a third four minutes into the second half. Chester's header back into the box saw the dangerous front two sniffing out danger but under challenges neither Jelavic nor Hernandez could turn in.
Everton mustered their best opening in the 54th minute.
With Rosenior stricken on the touchline, felled by an injury that required a stretcher, Barkley danced between anxious challenges inside the box and fired a snap-shot that Allan McGregor forcefully pushed wide.
City reshuffled to a back-three and Harry Maguire, the last of their substitutes, was needed to keep Everton at bay again. He blocked Steven Naismith's shot bravely as the visitors sought an opener that promised to change the game.
The Tigers, though, were not without chances of their own. Hernandez's lovely pass into Meyler cut Everton open and a pull-back to Jelavic required a scrambling block to limit the damage. Hernandez also spurned a great chance of his own when latching onto Robbie Brady's outrageous long ball.
Not that it mattered. Once the hapless Antolin Alcaraz was dismissed for a second yellow card when blocking Jelavic, City were already destined for victory.
