After a goalless first half, Louis Carey put City into the lead before he fouled José Fonte to concede a late penalty which was converted by Ben Watson.

In injury time, David Noble's strike from 30 yards (27 m) beat Julián Speroni in the Palace goal, and the match ended 2–1 to City.

Watford's Danny Shittu had an early goal disallowed and shortly after, Nick Barmby put Hull City ahead, with a sidefooted shot from a Fraizer Campbell pass.

Campbell then hit the post from an Andy Dawson cross, but the rebound was picked up and guided into an empty net by Dean Windass, doubling Hull's lead.

With thirty minutes of the match remaining, the referee Kevin Friend showed John Eustace a straight red card for an infraction after a tackle.

Darius Henderson opened the scoring on 12 minutes to halve Watford's deficit across the legs, but Barmby equalised before half time.

Second-half goals from Caleb Folan, Richard Garcia and Nathan Doyle ensured a dominant win for Hull, 4–1 on the day and 6–1 on aggregate.

[10] During the regular season, the two sides played out a goalless draw at the KC Stadium in November 2007, while Bristol City won their home game 2–1.

[13] Campbell was Hull's highest scorer with fifteen goals during the regular season, followed by Windass on eleven, while Dele Adebola was Bristol City's top marksman with ten.

Bristol City were more dominant in the early stages and in the 17th minute, Adebola's pass found Nick Carle on the edge of the penalty area but his shot went narrowly wide.

Adebola lost possession allowing Hull to counter attack, with Campbell's accurate cross being volleyed into the Bristol City goal from the edge of the area.

A clash of head between Barmby and Bradley Orr resulted in a prolonged stop in play while the latter received treatment, including oxygen, for a suspected fractured cheekbone.

After ten minutes of additional time, the referee Alan Wiley blew his whistle to signify the end of the first half, with Hull holding a 1–0 lead.

With 14 minutes of regular time remaining, Bristol City made their final change, with Darren Byfield replacing Carle.