First half goals from veteran duo Nick Barmby and Dean Windass put Hull in the Championship play-off driving seat with a 2-0 semi final first leg win at Watford.

Hull stunned their hosts with strikes on eight and 22 minutes and the match was over as a contest when Watford skipper John Eustace was shown a straight red card just after the hour mark.

Watford had every right to feel aggrieved at falling behind to Nick Barmby's eighth-minute strike as Danny Shittu had seen a goal disallowed four minutes previously, but there was no evidence of any foul.

The big Nigeria centre-half rose unchallenged to head a corner past Boaz Myhill, who was stranded after being caught between staying on his line and coming to claim the ball.

Yet for some reason referee Kevin Friend blew, when no Watford player had touched or impeded Myhill, who himself pushed Tommy Smith in the build-up.

Following the decision, everything went against the Hertfordshire club and soon afterwards Hull were ahead when Barmby finished across Richard Lee after Shittu was dragged out of position.

And Windass - another veteran locally-born Hull supporter - doubled their lead less than a quarter of an hour later when he headed past Lee after Frazier Campbell's header took a deflection and cannoned back off the crossbar.

Watford were stunned but they only had themselves to blame. Lloyd Doyley was responsible for the second goal after he failed to close down Andy Dawson on the Hull left and it was Dawson's cross that caused the original problems for the Hornets.

The hosts tried to work their way back into the tie, with winger Jobi McAnuff impressive as he turned Sam Ricketts inside-out on the left. McAnuff created openings for Nathan Ellington and Matthew Sadler but neither could take them, and he himself forced two saves from Myhill.

Tommy Smith was also getting on the ball, cutting inside from wide positions and also making Myhill work on a couple of occasions.

Aidy Boothroyd's men came out in the second half with their tails up and dominated Hull for the opening stages.

Shittu forced a good stop from Myhill with another header, while Sadler was somehow denied by an excellent save from the former Aston Villa trainee.

But any hopes of a Watford comeback were ended when captain Eustace was given his marching orders for the second time since joining the club in January after an innocuous tackle was followed by a shoving match.

The referee confirmed afterwards that he ended Eustace's match for the initial tackle, although replays showed no evidence of serious foul play or intent as Eustace merely tripped over a pile of bodies with the ball there to be played.

A Myhill save from Doyley aside, Hull were able to close down the match,.

They could have had a couple more goals too, through Campbell and substitute Nathan Doyle, and took a commanding lead back to the KC Stadium for the second leg on Wednesday.

Reda Maher / Eurosport