Watford captain John Eustace has won his appeal against a red card received in the first leg of the play-off semi final against Hull and is now available for the second leg.

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Eustace was shown a straight red by referee Kevin Friend for an innocuous tackle in the 2-0 defeat at Vicarage Road at the weekend.

It was an unusual decision as he did not appear to foul anyone as a crowd of players challenged for a 50-50 ball.

However, he tripped over a pile of bodies, which provoked a furious reaction from the Hull players that resulted in Friend showing Eustace his second red card in five months at the club.

Friend had already incensed Aidy Boothroyd's men when he disallowed a fourth-minute goal by defender Danny Shittu when it appeared that Hull goalkeeper Boaz Myhill had committed the only foul in the build-up when he pushed Tommy Smith.

Hull boss Phil Brown took the unusual step of praising the referee after the match, when most media reports heavily criticised Friend's performance.

The second leg at the KC Stadium is on Wednesday May 14.