Phil Brown thinks goal hero Fraizer Campbell could have been 'damaged' by the tackle which saw Phil Ifil sent off in Hull's win at Colchester.The 3-1 victory at Layer Road enhanced Hull's promotion prospects and pushed the 10-man Us nearer to League One football next season.
Brown's side are now just five points off an automatic promotion spot in the Championship.
United were forced to play with 10 men for much of the game after defender Ifil was dismissed for violent conduct following a 14th-minute foul on Campbell.
And Campbell's brace, in addition to substitute Caleb Folan's late third, wrapped up the points for Hull after Kevin Lisbie's strike had given Colchester hope.
Hull manager Phil Brown felt the decision to send Ifil off was the correct one.
He said: "They had a poor piece of luck with the sending off, but I didn't think there was any intent on getting the ball.
"It was malicious, and it could have caused Frazier serious damage, so I think that the referee has done his job, no matter what anyone says.
"I thought we were fantastic. Colchester is a difficult place to come but I felt we fully deserved to take the three points."
Colchester manager Geraint Williams was reluctant to talk about Ifil's dismissal.
He said: "It's difficult at any time, but to have a man sent off that early makes it very, very difficult.
"From where I was, it looked like they ran across each other and it was an accidental trip.
"I haven't seen it again, and I don't really want to comment on it until then, because I'm sick of standing here at the end of 90 minutes talking about referees."
Dean Windass curled a free-kick wide for Hull before Ifil was handed his red card.
The Tigers scented blood, and after Ian Ashbee had headed wide, Campbell slotted the visitors ahead in the 20th minute, scoring at the second attempt from close range after his first shot had been blocked.
Hull were in the ascendancy and when Campbell beat Colchester goalkeeper Dean Gerken from close range after being fed by Henrik Pedersen, things looked grim for the Championship's bottom team.
But Johnnie Jackson's persistence saw him wrest back possession in the Hull area and set up Us leading scorer Lisbie who clinically rifled home a low shot.
And Colchester almost snatched an equaliser seconds before half-time when Clive Platt's effort from Jackson's corner was scrambled off the line.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Colchester battled well in the second half.
But after Gerken had tipped Michael Turner's header on to the woodwork and made a fine save from Ashbee, Hull finally made the points safe when Folan skipped through the centre and slotted in with three minutes to go.
There was still time for former Colchester player Richard Garcia to strike the woodwork with a looping effort before the end.
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