The final game of Round Nine of Super League, the Bank Holiday Monday late afternoon kick-off, saw a Hull FC side still smarting from their derby loss on Friday come up against a Warrington Wolves side who find themselves in the bottom half of the table after a poor recent run.
The winners of todays game would find themselves in fifth place in the table, but it was the home side who were given a two-point start on the handicap coupon in what promised to be a close competition between two sides who both came into the game looking for some consistency to stabilise their seasons.
Ben Currie was sin-binned for a professional foul as he prevented a Hull FC try by holding back, twelve minutes in and the perfect opportunity for FC which they took full advantage of on the second tackle when Jamie Shaul taking the Jake Connor bullet pass to score in the corner. Luke Gale brilliantly added the touchline conversion for 6-0.
Six minutes later Daryl Clark tapped a penalty to himself and went fifty metres to score as he ran through an FC defence who, to a man, had their backs turned to play. Stefan Ratchford added the conversion to level the scores, Hull with only themselves to blame.
On twenty-three it was Warrington´s turn to have a go at pub team defending as they stepped aside to allow Brad Fash to waltz through two awful attempts at tackles and ground the ball by the left upright. Gale was again accurate with the boot to re-stablish the six-point lead.
Five minutes before the break Matty Ashton stretched for the line after picking up a loose ball which was spilled by Darnell McIntosh from a Ratchford high kick. The video referee was consulted and awarded the try. Gareth Widdop added the conversion and again the sides were tied together.
The second half opened with a comedy of errors as both sides tried to force the impossible pass in attack and bomb chances which a little more composure might have realised.
On sixty-eight Luke Gale tried to break the second half deadlock with an attempted drop goal but slid the ball wide of the uprights. The Wolves worked their way downfield and finally got the opening points of the second half as Ashton went over in the left corner after taking a Josh Thewlis no look tip pass. Widdop pulled his conversion wide of the sticks with nine minutes left on the clock.
With four minutes left on the clock Chris Satae went close and the the next play the ball Manu Ma´u managed to burrow over the line to again level the scores. The video referee could not find any evidence to overrule the on field decision of a try and when Gale kicked the conversion the Airlie Birds were two ahead and had picked Warrington´s pocket to take the points and lift themselves above their arch enemy, Hull KR, into fifth spot.
This was real arm-wrestle between two evenly matched sides, neither of whom are setting the league alight in the early stages of the season. There were far more errors than try line spectaculars as both struggled to keep the ball and eliminate the mistakes on attack.
Hull FC: Connor, Shaul (T), Tuimavave, Wynne, McIntosh, Lovodua, Gale (3G), Sao, Johnstone, Bowden, Ma´u (T), Lane, Fash (T). Subs: Brown, Evans, Satae, Vulikijapani.
Warrington Wolves: Thewlis, Charnley, Mata´utia, King, Ashton (2T), Widdop (G), Ratchford (G), Mulhern, Clark D (T), Cooper, Currie (SB on 12), Hughes, Clark J. Subs: Philbin, Bullock, Walker, Longstaff.
Half-Time: 12-12.
Full-Time: 18-16.
Score Progression: (SB), 4-0, 6-0, 6-4, 6-6, 10-6, 12-6, 12-10, 12-12 : HT : 12-16, 16-16, 18-16: FT.
Referee: Chris Kendall.
