Hull finally get to Wembley

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL, SECOND LEG/Hull City 4 Watford 1: GOALS FROM Nick Barmby, Caleb Folan, Richard Garcia and Nathan Doyle helped Hull reach Wembley for the first time in the club's 104-year history and set up a Championship play-off final tie against Bristol City on May 24th.

Barmby cancelled out Darius Henderson's opener as Watford briefly threatened a stirring comeback in the semi-final second leg at a packed KC Stadium before succumbing to a convincing aggregate defeat.

Substitute Folan added his side's second after former England international Barmby had notched his second goal against Adrian Boothroyd's side in the space of four days.

Garcia and Doyle then grabbed a goal apiece late on as Hull romped to victory to spark a pitch invasion at the full-time whistle.

Hull manager Phil Brown will take the majority of the plaudits after guiding a club seemingly in freefall when he took charge in December 2006 to safety last season and now to within one game of securing promotion to the Premier League.

Perhaps even more poignant is the fact it was two Hull-born players, Barmby and Dean Windass, who scored the goals over the two legs that in the end sent their hometown club to Wembley.

Boothroyd's boys needed an early goal if they had any hope of turning the tie around and it duly arrived after 12 minutes, with Henderson making a dramatic return to the side from suspension.

Despite starting the evening with the comfort of a two-goal cushion following a convincing 2-0 win in the first leg on Sunday, Hull were poor early on but their second-half performance proved decisive.

HULL: Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Dawson, Garcia, Ashbee, Hughes, Barmby (Fagan 72), Windass (Folan 63), Campbell (Doyle 78). Subs not used: Duke, Walton. Booked: Barmby, Turner. Goals: Barmby 43, Folan 70, Garcia 88, Doyle 90.

WATFORD: Lee, Mariappa (Priskin 57), DeMerit, Bromby, Sadler, Smith, Eustace, Williamson, McAnuff, Henderson, Ellington (Ainsworth 79). Subs not used: Poom, Doyley, O'Toole. Goals: Henderson 12.

Referee: M Clattenburg (Tyne Wear).