Hull City 1 Charlton 2

CHARLTON moved back into second place in the Championship as they extended their unbeaten sequence to seven league games in Tuesday's fiesty affair at the KC Stadium.

Both teams finished with 10-men after the match erupted in the 43rd minute in a mass brawl.

It ended with Manchester referee Anthony Taylor sending off Charlton midfielder Lloyd Sam and Hull skipper Ian Ashbee.

Afterwards, Hull manager Phil Brown accused two unnamed Charlton players of influencing the referee in showing Ashbee a red card.

"I'm convinced that two Charlton players influenced that decision," he said. "There were a lot of injustices out there."

Referring to Charlton manager Alan Pardew's decision to march on to the field and confront Hull striker Dean Windass, Brown added: "People coming on to the pitch and making a big fuss didn't help matters."

Pardew retorted: "I was attempting to come between Windass and Jonathan Fortune.

"That's all. We shall appeal against Lloyd Sam's dismissal."

Charlton had taken the lead two minutes earlier thanks to Luke Varney's second goal of the season.

When Hull goalkeeper Bo Myhill made a hash of collecting skipper Andy Reid's free-kick, Varney reacted quickest to score.

Goalkeeper Nicky Weaver produced an exceptional save to deny Hull substitute Chris McPhee before Chris Iwelumo increased Charlton's lead in the 88th minute following slick play by Reid and Zheng Zhi.

Hull pulled back a goal through McPhee in stoppage time but the Charlton defence was solid enough to withstand sustained pressure in a nerve-jangling finish.

Charlton: Weaver; Mills, Bougherra, Fortune, Powell; Sam, Semedo (McLeod 90 mins), Zheng (Sodje 90 mins)Reid; Varney (Thomas 90 mins), Iwelumo. Not used: Randolph, Todorov.

Attendance: 15,001