Hull FC Reserves slumped to a 38-18 defeat to St Helens Reserves this afternoon, surrendering a half-time lead at the University of Hull.
Having led 12-10 at the break thanks to scores from Davy Litten and Alex Gibson, Hull conceded five consecutive second-half tries as Saints punished the Black & Whites for some sloppy discipline.
But Aidan Burrell demonstrated Hull’s threat in goodball, posting a late, consolation try.
The Match
Good, early try-line defence yielded its rewards for Hull at the other end of the field when Callum Rutland made a break from the halfway line, with Litten in support to score the first try of the afternoon.
On what was a disappointing afternoon for the Black & Whites on the discipline front, it was off the back of a penalty that St Helens responded – Lewis Baxter barging over from dummy half underneath the sticks to restore parity.
The visitors took the lead for the first time on the half-hour mark. As Hull looked to build pressure with a grubber kick into the in-goal area, Rio Corkill swept up and evaded the chasers to race 70 metres up the field, where he was eventually brought down by the retreating defenders. But gassed from the transition, Hull were caught cold on the last play as Keane Gilford scored in the right corner.
However, the impetus was very much back with the Black & Whites just two minutes later when they re-took the lead through Gibson’s powerful effort over the whitewash.
HALF-TIME: Hull 12-10 Saints
Disappointed to be behind at the halfway point, Saints evidently came out of the changing rooms to prove a point in the second half, and it only took five minutes for them to breach FC’s defence when Corkill scooted over from dummy half.
As Hull looked to be back in the grind of the game, a sucker punch was landed by the visitors as Dayon Sambou supplied Gilford for his second try of the game ten minutes later.
Frustration began to creep into the mindsets of Hull’s players, with some tough penalties going the way of St Helens. But there’s no room for sentiment in rugby league, and Saints made Michael Shenton’s side pay when Jake Burns evaded the markers to score from dummy half.
Two more quickfire tries sealed victory for the visitors, with converted tries from Daniel Hill and Jake Burns making it 38-12.
Having seen precious little of possession in goodball throughout the second half, the hosts still proved their threat in dangerous territory.
Aidan Burrell received the ball, put his head down and ran hard to crash over the try line to the right of the sticks, adding some consolation for Hull’s Reserves with five minutes to go.
FULL-TIME: Hull 18-38 Saints
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Litten, Barron, Opie-Palmer, Walker, Chatham, Rutland, Chapman-Peterson, Mafi, Gibson, Gardiner, Jebson, Gilbey, Burrell
Hull Interchanges: Bursell, Petrie, Richards, Wright
Hull Tries: Litten, Gibson, Burrell
Hull Goals: Rutland (3/3)
Saints: Hill, Gilford, Sambou, Simm, Martyn, Moss, McGucken, Baxter, Burns, Royle, Sumner, Corkill, Peposhi
Saints Interchanges: Bailey, Bannerman, Sinclair, Roberts
Saints Tries: Baxter, Gilford (2), Corkill, Burns, Hill, Roberts
Saints Goals: Martyn (5/7)
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