Sheffield United's Championship promotion hopes were dealt a blow on Friday as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Hull City at the KCOM Stadium.

Nouha Dicko's second-half strike was enough to secure only a seventh league win of the season for the home side and give their survival bid a substantial boost.

The first half of the game was interrupted in the 20th minute by an organised protest from the home fans against the Allam family's ownership of the club.

Play was suspended for more than two minutes because of balls thrown onto the pitch from the stands, while many supporters blew whistles in an attempt to cause further disruption. United striker Leon Clarke was one player to be fooled when he stopped a run believing he had been called offside, but referee Simon Hooper did not halt the contest again.

The action resumed but the visitors failed to find their best form for the remainder of the match, with John Fleck shooting narrowly wide with one of their only promising openings.

Hull sensed an opportunity for a vital three points and Dicko proved to be the hero, collecting Jackson Irvine's clever pass before side-footing high past goalkeeper Jamal Blackman from close range.

Nigel Adkins' side survived some late pressure to move out of the bottom three and up to 20th in the table, while United stay seventh, two points outside the play-off places.