LONDON • Ten-man Hull earned a priceless 2-0 home victory over Watford yesterday to keep themselves just above the English Premier League relegation zone.

Things looked bleak for the Tigers when Oumar Niasse was surprisingly shown a straight red card after 25 minutes by referee Bobby Madley for a challenge on M'Baye Niang.

Hull had to weather some Watford pressure but reached half-time on level terms and took the lead just past the hour, when Liverpool loanee Lazar Markovic scored from close range after his header had bounced down on the goal-line.

Hull made sure of the points nine minutes later, when Sam Clucas found the top corner with a superb 30-metre shot.

They have now won four consecutive home league games and lie 17th on the table on 33 points with four matches left.

Relegation-threatened Swansea kept their hopes of staying in the Premier League alive by beating Stoke 2-0 at home, with goals by Fernando Llorente and Tom Carroll.

Llorente gave Swansea the lead with a trademark header from a corner in the 10th minute, helping his team stay in 18th place, two points behind Hull with four matches left.

Stoke were awarded a penalty in the second half, but Marko Arnautovic blazed his spot kick over the bar and Swansea doubled their lead a minute later after Carroll's shot found the top corner via a deflection off Joe Allen.

Bournemouth boosted their chances of staying in the Premier League with a crushing 4-0 win over a 10-man Middlesbrough side that pushed their opponents towards the relegation precipice.

The north-east English side, who have not won in 16 league games and are second from bottom on 24 points, had a nightmare opening 20 minutes in which they conceded two goals and had midfielder Gaston Ramírez sent off for a second booking.

Bournemouth, who are now 12th on 38 points, added two more goals in the second half.

Everton's bid to find a place among the last four were dashed when they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham.

The Merseyside outfit are now sixth on 58 points, one point above Arsenal and two behind Manchester United, who both have three games in hand.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE