A Danny Richardson drop-goal was enough for the Knights to down the Black & Whites on Friday evening, as the North Yorkshire side ran out 16-17 winners at the MKM Stadium.
A lacklustre display in West Hull saw the Airlie Birds fall to their first defeat on home soil this season, on a night where torrid conditions played a part in the contest.
Team News
John Cartwright made three changes to the side that faced Wigan last weekend.
Will Pryce and Joe Batchelor dropped out of the squad through injury, whilst Callum Kemp also dropped out of the side.
Zak Hardaker and John Asiata made their returns from injury. Jake Arthur also started, making his Super League debut.
The Match
A penalty for an interference at the play-the-ball gave FC the first chance of the game, but a scrappy end to the set saw York survive. They quickly got on the attack themselves and had repeat sets on the Hull line, and after a quick play out the back on the last, David Nofoaluma touched down to open the scoring. Richardson converted the try.
Powerful runs from Aydin and Cartwright helped the hosts into a menacing position again after fifteen minutes but a poor end to the set saw the visitors survive again, with chances few and far between in the early stages.
A knock-on in the Hull half gave FC a great chance to hit back shortly after and they took the chance. Straight from the scrum, the ball was spread wide to the right wing, where Davy Litten produced some great footwork to evade a tackler and score. Hardaker added the extras.
Another penalty had Cartwright’s side back on the attack a few minutes later, but a wayward pass midway through the set went over the touchline. The error was then compounded with a penalty and the Knights used the resulting field position well, getting over the tryline but being denied by the video referee.
Hull hit the lead with half an hour gone. Barron received the ball on the overlap and outpaced the chasing pack before powering over the top of the fullback to score. Hardaker hit the post with the conversion attempt.
The hosts had a few chances to extend their lead five minutes later. A short dropout put Hull on the front foot and a powerful run from Hill on the last nearly saw FC crash over for a try. The Black and Whites continued to pile on pressure for the rest of the half but couldn’t extend their lead.
Half-Time: Hull FC 10-6 York Knights
A teasing kick from Jake Arthur saw Hull put pressure on the visitors’ line early in the second forty, but it was just too strong for Harvey Barron to run onto before it trickled into touch.
York drew level just over five minutes in to the half. An error from the Black and Whites on the try-line was capitalised on, with Nofoaluma scoring his second of the night. Richardson dragged his conversion wide.
FC were reduced to twelve moments later with Cartwright being shown a yellow card. Applegarth’s side put the extra man to good use immediately, with Ben Jones-Bishop sliding in for a try. Richardson added the extras.
Hull built a nice looking attack after fifty-five minutes in what was there first real chance of the half, but an error returned possession to the Knights.
York were quickly back on the attack and had the numbers down the left wing, but a scrappy pass from Vaughan saw the Black and Whites survive. A teasing kick almost sent Griffin over for a try on the next set, but Davy Litten was in position for it. Richardson kicked a drop goal five minutes later to notch the visitors further ahead.
FC had a great chance to reply ten minutes from time. Back-to-back sets got the home side into the danger zone, but an error at the play the ball saw York survive once more. A huge run from Sam Lisone put Hull back into good field position on the next set, but a disjointed end to the set saw York get to safety again.
With ten minutes to go, a chip and chase from Arthur forced a goal-line drop-out. A charging run from Lisone saw the Black and Whites go close again, before an error from the visitors gave Hull another chance and this time they had their reward. A well weighted kick was drilled into the right hand corner of the in-goal and Martin pounced on the ball to score. Hardaker reduced the York lead to a point with the boot.
With a minute to go, Zak Hardaker attempted a drop-goal to level the scores, but it was well wide.
Full Time: Hull FC 16-17 York Knights
The Squads and Scorers
Hull: Davy Litten, Harvey Barron, Zak Hardaker, Arthur Romano, Lewis Martin, Jake Arthur, Aidan Sezer, Liam Knight, Amir Bourouh, Harvie Hill, Connor Bailey, Jed Cartwright, Yusuf Aydin.
Hull Interchanges: John Asiata, Cade Cust, Sam Lisone, Brad Fash.
Hull 18th Man: Matty Laidlaw
Hull Tries: Litten (20), Barron (31), Martin (76)
Hull Goals: Hardaker (21, 77)
York: Toa Mata’afa, Ben Jones-Bishop, Sam Wood, Nikau Williams, David Nofoaluma, Danny Richardson, Liam Harris, Jack Martin, Paul McShane, Paul Vaughan, Josh Griffin, Oli Field, Jordan Thompson.
York Interchanges: Denive Balmforth, Xavier Va’a, Justin Sangare, King Vuniyayawa.
York 18th Man: Jesse Dee.
York Tries: Nofoaluma (9, 46), Jones-Bishop (52)
York Goals: Richardson (10, 53)
York Drop Goals: Richardson (61)
Official attendance, sponsored by Garbutts: 12,716
Rowe Freight Man of the Match: Davy Litten
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