A spirited Hull FC Reserves side fell just short against St Helens Reserves at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Finishing 18-12, there were just five tries in total between the two sides, whose defences were both put under serious duress for significant periods during the game.
But tries from Jeylan Hodgson and Sully Medforth either side of half-time were not enough for Hull FC, who fell just shy in their attempts to level the match again in the closing stages.
The Match
Both sides made spritely starts, exchanging goodball sets in the opening ten minutes as defences passed their early examinations.
It wasn’t until the fifteen minute mark that referee Brad Mulligan awarded the first penalty of the match. That proved to be a costly one for Hull FC.
Because from the resulting set, a fired, flat pass from the hands of Will Roberts allowed Leon Cowen to draw first blood for the Saints.
Hull evidently had the wind knocked out of their sails once they fell behind, with Saints enjoying a spell of dominance that ultimately came to no avail against a tenacious Black & White defence.
Yet when the visitors appeared to be back on a competitive level in the battle for territory, a Dayon Sambou break from deep inside his own half had Hull in scramble mode. And from there, they were unable to stop the elusive Harry Robertson from weaving through the traffic to score in the right corner from 35 metres out.
But the hosts’ twelve-point point cushion was quickly halved when Mackenzie Harman converted Hodgson’s try, after the hooker somehow smuggled the ball over the whitewash from dummy-half.
HALF-TIME: Saints Reserves 12-6 Hull Reserves
Saints fullback Robertson dropped the ball from the kick-off restart following the break, and that gave Hull the belief and confidence required to draw back onto level terms.
A quick play-the-ball in the middle from 15 metres out afforded Hull the luxury of having an extra man, but the move still took some finishing.
That responsibility lied on the shoulders of Medforth, who skipped past one onrushing defender and then jinked through the disorganised defensive line to score.
With the scores locked at 12-12, Hull thought they had taken the lead for the first time, but before Harman could reach the try-line under the sticks, he was pulled back by the referee for an obstruction offence.
Still, Hull continued to probe the Saints defensive line when given the opportunity, but the hosts kept the door firmly shut.
Saints then scored what would prove to be the match-winning try with just over a quarter of the game remaining. Hull were forced onto the back foot when they conceded a penalty for being offside, and Noah Stephens took the direct approach as he bulldozed his way through the front door, dotting down under the uprights.
With the game well and truly in the balance, Hull would continue to be awarded opportunities by a sloppy Saints side, and when Medforth’s grubber kick slipped through the net, Jude Thompson’s effort to ground the ball saw the front-rower come short by a small margin with less than two minutes to go, much to FC’s anguish.
FULL-TIME: Saints Reserves 18-12 Hull Reserves
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Walker, Shaw, Farrar, Westerman, Tindall, Harman, Medforth, Mafi, Hodgson, Thompson, Kirby, Bursell, Okunbor
Hull Interchanges: Clark, Haldenby, Harris, Hutchinson
Hull Tries: Hodgson, Medforth
Hull Goals: Harman (2/2)
Saints: Robertson, Dagnall, Sambou, McGucken, Will, Lane, Roberts, Sinclair, Nolan, Stephens, Carty, Royle, Cowen
Saints Interchanges: Braddish, Dean, Oakes, Whitby
Saints Tries: Cowen, Robertson, Stephens
Saints Goals: Roberts (2/2), Whitby (1/1)
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