Hull FC were woeful. York run out deserved winners.
Hull FC’s Harvey Barron on his way to a try against York.
Hull FC’s miserable week continued with a 17-16 home defeat to York Knights on Friday night, with the Super League newcomers continuing their topflight crusade – and conquering of the city of Hull.
Already winners over Hull KR on the opening round, the Knights got their second victory of the new season against a Hull club, compounding the Black and Whites to arguably their worst defeat of the John Cartwright era. The home side – clunky and second best for the majority of the contest – struggled again to get a foothold, with York digging in and fully deserving of their one-point triumph.
Off the pace, Hull looked disjointed and out of shape. They struggled to click in attack, with York shutting them out in the atrocious wet weather conditions at the MKM Stadium.
Hull welcomed back John Asiata to their side in the second half. However, the loose forward could do little to turn the tide late on – with Hull in turn losing Aidan Sezer and Jed Cartwright to injury. Cade Cust was also in visible discomfort – not that injuries excuse what was a really poor performance from FC, whose start to the season has been concerning to say the least.
Asiata was one of three changes to the Hull side, with Jake Arthur making his first Super League appearance and Zak Hardaker coming back into the team after a minor ankle issue. Connor Bailey also started against his former club, with Davy Litten playing at full-back following a season-ending ACL injury for Will Pryce. Meanwhile, York had five former Hull players in their line-up, with Liam Harris, Paul McShane, Josh Griffin, Jordan Thompson, and King Vuniyayawa all selected. They were joined by Denive Balmforth, with the on-loan FC hooker allowed to play against his former club – and part of a fine Knigts win.
And it was York who got the scoreboard rolling first, with some sustained pressure on Hull telling. The Knights got the repeat set and they made it count through debut winger David Nofoaluma, who took Toa Mata’afa’s slick pass to score.
Hull took a while to get into the gear, and they did just that from a scum play, with Davy Litten linking well into the attacking line to take Jake Arthur’s pass to score.
York stuck at it, but Hull, with Sezer back on and Harvie Hill passing his HIA, then got ahead – and in some style, with Harvey Barron put in the clear by Bailey and then showing a clean pair of heels to race away – and the strength to beat Mata’afa on the line for a fine try.
Hull held that lead until half time, with the second half seeing the heavens open up and turn the way of the away side. They drew level through Nofoaluma, who took advantage of a Hull error in the back field to score.
Things then went from bad to worse for the Black and Whites. Sezer didn’t return for the second half and their luck was compounded with an injury to Barron. Jed Cartwright was then sin binned in a play that also saw him limp off the field with Asiata thrown on to turn the tide.
And Hull’s woes then hit their peak as York found space out wide for winger Ben Jones-Bishop to squeeze over for a lead they absolutely deserved – and a lead they soon extended through a clean Danny Richardson drop-goal.
Hull – who struggled to find the penetrating blow – hit back through Lewis Martin late on – but it wasn’t enough, with York holding on for their first win over the Black and Whites since 1977. A truly historic night – for a club and city bursting with history, it just gets better and better.
Teams
Hull Starting XIII: XIII: 3. Davy Litten; 2. Harvey Barron, 4. Zak Hardaker, 21. Arthur Romano, 5. Lewis Martin; 6. Jake Arthur, 7. Aidan Sezer; 17. Liam Knight, 9. Amir Bourouh, 10. Harvie Hill; 22. Connor Bailey, 12. Jed Cartwright; 20. Yusuf Aydin
Interchange: 13. John Asiata, 14. Cade Cust, 16. Sam Lisone, 23. Brad Fash. 18th Man: 25. Matty Laidlaw
Starting XIII: 1. Toa Mata’afa; 2. Ben Jones Bishop, 4. Sam Wood, 26. Nikau Williams, 46. David Nofoaluma; 19. Danny Richardson, 7. Liam Harris; 8. Jack Martin, 9. Paul McShane, 10. Paul Vaughan; 11. Josh Griffin, 20. Oli Field; 13. Jordan Thompson
Interchange: 14. Denive Balmforth, 15. Xavier Va’a, 16. Justin Sangare, 31. King Vuniyayawa. 18th Man: 12. Jesse Dee
Scorers
Hull Tries: Litten, Barron Martin. Goals: Hardaker 2/3
York Tries: Nofoaluma 2, Jones-Bishop. Goals: Richardson 2/3. Drop Goal: Richardson
Scoring System: 0-6, 6-6, 10-6, HT, 10-10, 10-16, 10-17, 16-17 – FT
Referee: James Vella. Video Referee: Liam Rush
Attendance: 12,716