A young Hull FC Reserves outfit made up of nine Academy players fought courageously against an undefeated Wigan Warriors Reserves side, narrowly losing 26-24 at Robin Park Arena.
Wigan established a half-time lead through tries from Maddox Jeffery, Zach Eckersley and Ethan Fitzgerald, with Jeylan Hodgson’s try for FC keeping the visitors in the tie.
Jude Ferreira’s early second-half try put the fire in Hull’s belly, but Kavan Rothwell and Jeffery extended Wigan’s lead to 14 with less than a quarter of the game remaining, meaning late tries from Zach Jebson and Kye Armstrong were nothing more than a consolation for the Black & Whites.
The Match
Hull did well to keep the Warriors at bay early on, having gifted John Winder’s side cheap field position. But the early pressure proved too much, as Jeffery plucked a Logan Astley kick out of the air and finished in the left corner.
Eckersley waltzed through a disjointed defensive line just a few minutes later after a sloppy Wigan pass went to ground, and Hull were punished for their lack of urgency as the Warriors centre sped away from FC fullback Harvey Barron to score underneath the uprights.
The visitors worked their way back into the grind of the game and started to enjoy some possession inside Wigan’s half. A flick pass from Barron sent Roman Dawson into the clear down the left wing, but he was ushered out into touch by the scrambling Warriors defence.
Hull’s perseverance paid off, though, when Hodgson opened FC’s account with a burrowing effort under the sticks in the 24th minute.
Fitzgerald restored Wigan’s comfort blanket just past the half-hour mark, finishing off a well-worked scrum play for the hosts.
HALF-TIME: Warriors Reserves 14-6 Hull Reserves
Hull emerged from the changing rooms with a determined mindset and their focused start to the second-half paid dividends.
Ben McNamara, who was forced off the field in the first-half with a hand injury, was replaced by Kye Armstrong in the halves, and it was his crafty offload that allowed Ferreira to crash over from a few metres out.
Sully Medforth converted the try to bring Hull back to within two points, but six minutes later, the visitors found themselves two scores behind again when Rothwell scored with ease under the posts after the Warriors were awarded back-to-back penalties.
A try on the hour from Jeffery looked to have sealed Hull’s fate, when he collected an Eckersley flick pass on the left wing and escaped the grasp of Medforth to score in the corner.
Despite being 14-points down with less than 20 minutes remaining, Hull’s attitude remained positive and they continued to apply pressure, both with and without possession.
That was evident when the Black & Whites forced a ball-handling error when Wigan were forced to exit their own end of the field, allowing Jebson to pick up the bouncing ball and score under the sticks from 20 metres out.
Hull continued to throw the kitchen sink at a tiring Warriors outfit, hoping to keep their slim Grand Final hopes intact.
And Armstrong’s energetic effort with three minutes on the clock certainly got Hull interested, with Medforth’s conversion reducing the deficit to just two points.
But time was of the essence, and the Black & Whites were unable to forge a clear scoring opportunity before the referee’s final whistle sounded.
FULL-TIME: Warriors Reserves 26-24 Hull Reserves
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Barron, Dawson, Shaw, Wacokecoke, Martin, Medforth, McNamara, Laidlaw, Hodgson, Thompson, Jebson, Ferreira, Armstrong
Hull Interchanges: Bursell, Garmston, Stewart, Ward
Hull Tries: Hodgson, Ferreira, Jebson, Armstrong
Hull Goals: McNamara (1/1), Medforth (3/3)
Warriors: Kilner-Douglas, Fitzgerald, Thornley, Eckersley, Jeffery, Astley, Yeomans, Makin, Baldwin, Rothwell, Beardsworth, Irwin, Wilson
Warriors Interchanges: Brown, Kelly-Duffy, O’Loughlin, Wood
Warriors Tries: Jeffery (2), Eckersley, Fitzgerald, Rothwell
Warriors Goals: Eckersley (3/5)
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