Birmingham's promotion hopes were dented by a 2-0 defeat at struggling Hull as Dean Windass got both goals.

Windass' double - his first goal for his hometown club since rejoining from Bradford - sentenced Steve Bruce's men to a first defeat in five Coca-Cola Championship games.

The veteran striker sidefooted Hull in to an early lead, before Birmingham's plight worsened when centre-back Radhi Jaidi was shown a straight red card for a professional foul on the edge of his penalty area.

Phil Brown's men bossed proceedings from start to finish and extended their lead when Windass fired home from the penalty spot after good work from Nicky Forster.

Ray Parlour was the instigator behind Hull's breakthrough and showed he still possesses enough quality to make his mark in the Championship with a perfect low cross from the right.

Windass astutely beat Birmingham's offside trap and swept the ball past Colin Doyle to give Hull the advantage.

Seven minutes later Gary McSheffrey controlled a loose clearance 25 yards from goal and executed a superb left-footed volley but Bo Myhill tipped over for a corner.

Birmingham offered little going forward and were reduced to 10 men when Stuart Elliott raced onto a long ball but was brought down by Jaidi, who was sent off by referee Colin Webster.

Windass' resulting free-kick speared just wide and Steve Bruce was forced into replacing striker DJ Campbell with Stephen Kelly to counter Jaidi's dismissal.

Bruce also substituted Sebastian Larsson for Nicklas Bendtner at the interval.

The double change cut little ice, however, as David Livermore nearly produced a stunning goal when his long-range blast was pawed onto the crossbar by Doyle.

Brown's players did make it 2-0 three minutes before the hour when Forster was chopped down by Martin Taylor inside the area.

Windass stroked the ball in to the back of the net from the penalty spot.

Birmingham's response was limited and Myhill had little to trouble him throughout the second half.

Windass could have registered a hat-trick had Doyle not been alert to his deft attempt at goal.

Hull continued to hold all the aces and eased to a bloodless success which could go a long way to keeping them in the Championship.

By contrast, Birmingham must improve quickly if their dreams of returning to the top tier of English football are to be realised.

Teams:

Hull Myhill, Coles, Turner, Delaney, Ricketts,Parlour (Welsh 80), Ashbee, Livermore (Marney 89), Elliott,Forster, Windass (Parkin 90).

Subs Not Used: Duke, Doyle.

Booked: Coles.

Goals: Windass 10, 57 pen.

Birmingham Doyle, N'Gotty, Martin Taylor, Jaidi, Sadler,Clemence, Larsson (Bendtner 46), Danns, Campbell (Kelly 39),Jerome (Vine 65), McSheffrey.

Subs Not Used: Maik Taylor, Nafti.

Sent Off: Jaidi (34).

Att: 18,811

Ref: C Webster (Tyne & Wear).