The Black & Whites showed off some superb defensive resolve to claim a memorable 14-10 victory over Wigan on Thursday evening.
In torrid conditions at the MKM Stadium, Tony Smith’s men downed the current league leaders in a Thursday night nail-biter to make it back-to-back wins in the league.
First-half scores from Darnell McIntosh and Jake Clifford were enough to get Hull over the line despite and Iain Thornley brace from the Warriors.
Team News
Tony Smith made two changes for the battle against the current league leaders, with Jake Trueman coming into the squad to make his Hull FC debut from the bench – the half-back had recovered from an ACL injury sustained last season to make his long awaited return to action.
Trueman replaced young prop Will Gardiner in the squad, while Adam Swift also dropped out with a knock, replaced by Darnell McIntosh.
Tex Hoy (hamstring), Mitieli Vulikijapani (knee), Jamie Shaul (calf) and Charlie Severs (shoulder) remained unavailable through injury.
The Match
Hull opened the scoring after five minutes when a pin-point chip into the corner from Jake Clifford landed perfectly for Darnell McIntosh to dot down. Clifford was on target with the goal.
Hull had a second before the twenty minute mark as Clifford went from creator to scorer, stretching out an arm as Hull piled on the pressure to extend their lead. He added a second goal.
Clifford made the gap 14 points when he added a penalty goal ten minutes from half-time for a high shot on Chris Satae.
Cam Scott made two superb try-saving efforts on Iain Thronley in the closing efforts of the first-half, but the Warriors three-quarter did manage to get his name on the scoresheet before the break as Wigan sent the ball over to their left edge.
Half-Time: Hull FC 14-6 Wigan Warriors
Wigan started the stronger side after the restart, with Iain Thornley going over for his second try shortly after the restart, making the most of their numbers on their left edge. Smith missed the kick.
A torrential downpour at the start of the second-half hampered the Black & Whites with multiple handling errors allowing the Warriors into strong field position, with the visitors playing the conditions better than the hosts.
But, despite some poor errors from the Black & Whites, the hosts held firm in defence for the remainder of the game, coming up with some match-winning efforts to prevent the Warriors from hitting the front.
The most important tackle of the game perhaps came from Josh Griffin; the Airlie Birds looked to have bombed a certain try when Danny Houghton sent a grubber across the field, but the bounce of the ball beat Darnell McIntosh. Bevan French picked up the loose ball and raced away down field, but Griffin covered superbly to stop the move.
A tense finale ensured with the Warriors enjoying the majority of the pressure, and the best of the chances, but Hull held firm for a memorable win in front of a raucous MKM Stadium crowd.
Full-Time: Hull FC 14-10 Wigan Warriors
Squads:
Hull FC: Davy Litten, Darnell McIntosh, Carlos Tuimamave, Liam Sutcliffe, Cam Scott, Jake Clifford, Ben McNamara, Brad Fash, Danny Houghton, Ligi Sao, Josh Griffin, Jordan Lane, Joe Cator.
Interchange: Jake Trueman, Chris Satae, Scott Taylor, Brad Dwyer
18th Man: Joe Lovodua
Wigan Warriors: Bevan french, Abbas Miski, Toby King, Jake Wardle, Iain Thornley, Joe Shorrocks, Harry Smith, Ethan Havard, Sam Powell, Liam Byrne, Kai Pearce-Paul, Liam Farrell, Morgan Smithies.
Interchange: Patrick Mago, Brad O’Neill, Harvie Hill, Junior Nsemba.
18th Man: Ryan Hampshire
Scorers:
Hull FC Tries: McIntosh (5), Clifford (14)
Hull FC Goals: Clifford (3/3)
Wigan Tries: Thornley (38, 43)
Wigan Goals: Smith (1/2)
Peregrine Property Man of the Match: Jake Clifford
Attendance, In Association with Garbutts: 10,251
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