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Second-half goals by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Geovanni helped Hull see off Wigan to ease the pressure on under-fire Tigers boss Phil Brown. Both sides wasted a series of chances in an open first-half. The Latics were on top after the break but Vennegoor of Hesselink met Dean Marney's corner to head Hull in front. Geovanni swept home the Tigers' second goal from Kamil Zayatte's cross but Scott Sinclair's late header for Wigan left Hull hanging on at the end. The win was the ideal tonic for Brown, whose side had conceded 10 goals in their previous two matches and were on a four-game losing streak that had seen them slide to second-bottom in the Premier League. After seeing his side win only two of their previous 29 league matches, Brown will be happy just to collect the points - but the Tigers' performance was also hugely impressive. They had to soak up long period's of Wigan pressure, restricting the visitors to a handful of chances before Sinclair's late reply. Hull started strongly and Brown, along with most of the home fans, felt they should have had a penalty when Nicky Barmby met Stephen Hunt's lobbed cross and saw his shot come off Maynor Figueroa, only for referee Mark Clattenburg to wave away their claims of handball. Marney fired straight at Chris Kirkland after finding space on the edge of the area, while Barmby failed to connect properly with a volley after Hunt found him running into the area with a searching ball. Wigan, looking to build on last week's stunning win over Chelsea, did not get going until the 25th minute when they had two efforts on goal in quick succession. Boaz Myhill had to make a great stop to keep out Mohamed Diame's fierce 25-yard strike, then dived at Jason Scotland's feet as he looked to tuck away the rebound. And the Welsh goalkeeper was relieved to see another Scotland shot roll just wide seconds later after the combative Trinidad & Tobago international had fought his way through the home defence. Hull responded by pouring forward again and went close to breaking the deadlock when Geovanni curled in a cross that Vennegoor of Hesselink stooped to head inches wide. But it was Wigan who took the game by the scruff of the neck before the break, penning their hosts back in their half and maintaining the pressure without managing to fashion a real opening. The visitors continued to dominate after the break and only a timely challenge by Paul McShane stopped Charles N'Zogbia's cross reaching Diame in front of goal. That all changed on the hour mark when Vennegoor of Hesselink met Marney's corner with a fierce downward header for his first goal since joining the club at the start of September. Eight minutes later, the game was beyond Wigan when Geovanni's volley rounded off a move that started when Emmerson Boyce gave the ball away to Zayatte. The Latics took until the 87th minute to respond when Myhill spilled Jordi Gomez's cross-shot and Sinclair reacted quickly to nod home the rebound. That set up a frantic finale, with Gomez booked for diving in the box, but Hull held out for a victory that sees them climb out of the relegation zone.