Hull strengthened their burgeoning hopes of promotion to the Premier League with a fine 2-0 win over play-off rivals Burnley at the KC Stadium despite both sides ending the match with nine men.

Top-flight referee Mike Riley handed out an even split of four red cards in a surreal seven-minute spell midway through the second half to spoil what would have otherwise been a fine night for Phil Brown's Hull side.

The teams were separated by just a point going into the game but judging solely on the respective performances, only Hull can be considered as serious promotion contenders.

They excelled from start to finish and outplayed Burnley in every department, most notably in attack where the pairing of Frazier Campbell and Caleb Folan were far too good for Burnley's defence, although the latter was one of the players to feel Riley's wrath.

Campbell opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Burnley keeper Brian Jensen allowed his shot to squirm under his body, before Richard Garcia joined Campbell on the score sheet with a 35-yard drive that typified Hull's performance.

After losing 2-1 at Bristol City on Saturday, Brown welcomed Michael Turner back into the side but the defender was a mere spectator throughout the opening half as Hull opened up what proved to be an insurmountable lead.

Folan spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring when he fired wide in front of an open goal after Campbell had snuck in to dislodge the ball from Jensen's grasp.

Jay-Jay Okocha then dipped a free-kick over the bar, but it only delayed what proved to be the inevitable when Campbell opened the scoring.

There appeared to be little danger when the on-loan Manchester United striker drifted in from the left, but he was soon celebrating his 10th goal of the season when Jensen allowed his timid effort to slither under his body.

The same player could have added a second moments later when he dragged an effort across goal when one-on-one with Jensen.

Burnley were woken temporarily and James O'Connor and Andy Cole marked this with two wayward efforts, but they could not have been prepared for Garcia's wonder strike that followed.

The play was going nowhere when the Australian received the ball in midfield, but he unleashed a 35-yard strike that dipped over a helpless Jensen and nestled in the top corner to extend Hull's lead.

Shell-shocked Burnley managed to hang on until half-time without conceding further and started the second Hull continued to pile forward although the closest they came to extending their advantage was when Stephen Caldwell nearly turned a cross into his own goal.

The sporting nature of the game changed in the 69th minute when Folan became the first player to be dismissed.

His sending off came on the back of an off-the-ball incident that saw Caldwell felled, although tellingly the latter was also booked and that became important a minute later when he received a second yellow card for pulling back Campbell.

With both managers adapting to playing with one less player, the equation soon changed again when Okocha was given a straight red card for another off-the-ball occurrence although the recriminations didn't end there as Burnley substitute Gudjonsson was given a second yellow for retaliation.

In between the flurry of cards, Cole thumped a header against the bear but with numbers reduced, the remaining 10 minutes were akin to a training session.

Teams:

Hull Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Dawson, Garcia (Marney 81), Ashbee, Okocha, Pedersen (Walton 90), Folan, Campbell (France 79).

Subs Not Used: Tyler, Clement.

Sent Off: Folan (70), Okocha (76).

Booked: Garcia, Ashbee.

Goals: Campbell 14, Garcia 28.

Burnley Jensen, Alexander, Carlisle, Caldwell, Unsworth, Elliott, James O'Connor (Randall 71), McCann (Gudjonsson 33), Lafferty (Blake 54), Akinbiyi, Cole.

Subs Not Used: Kiraly, Varga.

Sent Off: Caldwell (71), Gudjonsson (77).

Booked: Carlisle, Gudjonsson, Caldwell.

Att: 15,838

Ref: Mike Riley (Yorkshire).