Cyrus Christie's second-half strike condemned Cardiff City to a second straight defeat under Sabri Lamouchi and deepened the Bluebirds' growing relegation worries.
By Glen Williams
The Tigers were good value for the three points at the MKM Stadium right from the off as Regan Slater's deflected effort cannoned back off the post after just 13 minutes.
Cardiff, not for the first time this season, offered precious little in terms of attacking threat, but were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead against the run of play after Jaden Philogene was brought down in the box.
Robinson, stepped up, but was denied from the spot courtesy of a fine save from Tigers goalkeeper Matt Ingram.
Hull responded after the break, and took the lead just after the hour, with Christie cutting in brilliantly from the right before curling home a lovely strike into the top corner of the net to seal all three points for his side.
The result extends Cardiff's winless run to 13 games, their worst run of form for 15 years and, despite a debut from the bench for new boy Sory Kanba, who should have levelled late on, there was precious little in terms of positives to take heading into next week's clash with Middlesbrough.
Huddersfield Town's draw with QPR has now cut the gap between Cardiff and the relegation zone to two points and, worryingly, the Terriers still have two games in hand over the Bluebirds.
Lamouchi made two changes from the defeat to Luton Town on Tuesday, with Callum O'Dowda recovering from a recent sickness bug, while Philogene was preferred to Mark Harris.
Cardiff had only managed one victory on Humberside in their last eight attempts coming into this game. Indeed, the last time they claimed all three points here was when a delirious away end witnessed a stunning brace from Sean Morrison as City marched towards the Premier League.
The circumstances for this group could hardly be more different.
The hosts dominated possession in the early exchanges, and would have taken an early lead were it not for the woodwork.
Slater was afforded the opportunity to cut in on his right inside the area by a stretched Cardiff defence, before hitting a low deflected drive that pinged off Ryan Allsop's left post.
Cardiff struggled to match the intensity of their hosts, who continued to create chances. Jack Simpson, who endured a torrid time at left-back, allowed Christie to fizz a low effort across goal that was scrambled behind for a corner, before Alfie Jones sent a looping header over the bar.
It seemed only a matter of time before Hull broke the deadlock, with a wayward freekick from Robinson the closest Cardiff came towards an opener in the first 20 minutes.
But Hull's inability to make their dominance count was very nearly punished as Cardiff were handed a golden opportunity to take what would have been a largely undeserved lead.
Philogene, at the heart of what was probably Cardiff's first move of real quality, burst towards the byline, before turning onto his left inside the area, where he was brought down by Callum Elder.
Robinson stepped up, but for the second time this season, saw his penalty saved, with Ingram getting down brilliantly to his right.
Agony for Cardiff, but it was a moment understandably greeted with a huge roar from the home crowd, who had their tails up as a result, although their side's intensity perhaps dipped slightly as the contest headed towards the break.
O'Dowda fizzed in a lovely low ball with Robinson and Philogene lurking, but neither could apply the decisive touch. But while Cardiff were offering a little more, Hull remained the better side.
Aaron Connolly's snapshot forced a smart save from Allsop just before half time, before Ozan Tufan sent an effort off target just after the restart.
Christie obviously remained a threat too.
Simpson and O'Dowda gave him enough room to land a jumbo jet out wide on the right and, like their fellow Bluebirds, could only watch on as the former Swansea City man curled his resulting effort wide.
New boy Kaba was then introduced to try and give Cardiff more of an attacking bite, but their inability to deal with Christie became the main concern. The Irishman was on hand to give his side the lead just after the hour, cutting inside before burying home what was almost a carbon copy of the chance he spurned just a few moments earlier.
Lamouchi responded by throwing Kion Etete on as a replacement for Simpson, who picked up a head injury just a few minutes after that opener - although he honestly would have had few complaints at being replaced anyway following a tough afternoon.
Philogene and Wintle both sent speculative efforts over the bar as Cardiff desperately tried to muster a response, while Kaba perhaps should have opened his account late on, but his point-blank effort was smothered by Ingram, rounding off another frustrating afternoon for the Bluebirds.
Hull City: Ingram; Christie, Jones, McLoughlin, Elder; Tufan (Longman 70), Docherty, Seri, Slater (Coyle 90); Connolly (Greaves 80), Estupinan
Subs: Darlow, Figueiredo, Woods, Simons
Cardiff City: Allsop; Ng, Kipre, McGuinness, Simpson (Etete 68), O'Dowda; Wintle, Sawyers; Ojo (Harris 90), Robinson (Kaba 55), Philogene
Subs: Alnwick, Ralls, Rinomhota, X. Benjamin
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