Hull ground out a 1-0 victory over nine-man Sunderland on Saturday after the visitors picked up two red cards at the end of the first half.
Hull took the lead after 25 minutes, courtesy of an own goal by Sunderland's Carlos Cuellar, who headed home under pressure from Yannick Sagbo.
Another setback followed when Sunderland goalkeeper Kieren Westwood had to be replaced by Vito Mannone in the 43rd minute due to a neck injury.
However, much worse was to come for Sunderland's new manager Gus Poyet in first-half stoppage time, as Lee Cattermole picked up a straight red for a bad challenge on Ahmed Elmohamady and Andrea Dossena was dismissed for a stamp on David Meyler.
Despite being outnumbered, Sunderland put up some dogged resistance in the second half.
