Ten-man Hull beat Watford for crucial three points

(Reuters) - HULL CITY 2 WATFORD 0 Ten-man Hull City earned a priceless 2-0 home victory over Stoke City to keep themselves just above the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday. Things looked bleak for the Tigers when Oumar Niasse was surprisingly shown a straight red card after 25 minutes by referee Bobby Madley for a challenge on M'Baye Niang. Hull had to weather some Watford pressure but reached halftime on level terms and took the lead just past the hour when Liverpool loanee Lazar Markovic scored from close range after his header had bounced down on the goal line. With relegation rivals Swansea also winning, Hull made sure of the points nine minutes later when Sam Clucas found the top corner with superb 30-metre shot. They have now won four consecutive home league games. With four games remaining 17th-placed Hull have 33 points to the 31 of Swansea. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Clare Fallon)