Hull are now just two points above bottom placed Huddersfield.
Hull FC full-back Logan Moy.
Hull FC’s miserable season took yet another low turn at Huddersfield Giants on Thursday night, with the West Yorkshire side inflicting a seventh successive defeat on the Black and Whites with a 22-16 victory.
The result leaves Hull just two points above Huddersfield at the bottom of the Super League table, and with six rounds still to go, and no win seemingly in sight for FC, a first wooden spoon in 62 years is still a possibility – a grim reality of what has been a disaster year that can’t finish soon enough.
Ultimately, Hull didn’t have the quality to pull away from Huddersfield after twice taking the lead, and they ended up getting what they deserved – nothing.
The mood at full-time was telling, with the boos from the away end loud and clear. This isn’t good enough, and the way the season has fizzled out with just two wins from the last 15 games has been quite frankly, pathetic.
Andy Last made the decision to leave out prop forward Herman Ese’ese ahead of the clash, with Yusuf Aydin coming in for the one and only change – at least in terms of personnel.
As for the contest, it was a typical bottom of table clash. Both sides were nervy and sloppy, and quality was hard to find, with the early exchanges bringing both errors and poor discipline.
Eventually it was Huddersfield who composed themselves first, with Chris Patolo opening the scoring after running a strong line off an inside pass.
But that try seemed to wake Hull up. They found space on the edges, and had opportunities to strike as the likes of Harvey Barron and Logan Moy broke the backfield with strong energetic carries.
Last’s side looked like they had some points in them, and that feeling soon turned into reality as Joe Batchelor ran a strong lead line off Jake Arthur to bust the Huddersfield line and round the cover defence to score his sixth try of the season
It was then a dirty dozen for Davy Litten, who got on the end of a long range move to score his 12th of the year, with Cade Cust making an immediate impact, dashing from dummy-half, bursting through the Giants line and finding Ethan O’Neill, who in turn, passed for the centre to score.
Hull thought they had another try through Moy, but the on field decision of no try was supported by the video ref, who confirmed an error by O’Neill. The same outcome then occurred at the other end as Jacob Gagai had one ruled out, failing to ground the ball in the in goal.
Cust then wasted a golden opportunity to extend Hull’s lead, trying to burrow over on the last with space out wide – and that was that for the first-half, with Hull holding a four point lead.
But that lead was short-lived going into the second half. Hull gave away a penalty, a six again, a and then were forced into a drop out – and the pressure told. Huddersfield kicked through the Hull line, and the away side failed to deal with it, with Connor Wrench kicking on and grounding the ball to score.
It was then an immediate response from Hull, who broke the line through O’Neill, with Litten in support to edge the away side back in front.
Hull couldn’t find the killer blow to pull away from Huddersfield and the home side made them pay, finding space on their right edge and levelling the game through Lewis Jagger’s try. That momentum stayed with the Giants, with Lolohea finding George Flanagan on a sharp line to score the winner.
FC scrambled until the final minute, but the Giants held on. It’s back to back wins for them. For Hull, it could yet be one of their worst returns ever. They look down and out. The final whistle at Leeds Rhinos in September can’t come soon enough.
Teams
Huddersfield Starting XIII: 21. George Flanagan; 29. Tanguy Zenon, 3. Jacob Gagai, 34. Connor Wrench, 42. Lewis Jagger; 6. Tui Lolohea, 18. Kieran Rush; 14. Fenton Rogers, 9. Zac Woolford, 23. Chris Patolo; 43. Zane Dunford, 12. Sam Hewitt; 13. Harry Rushton.
Interchange: 40. Cole Geyer, 17. Joe Greenwood, 22. Jack Billington, 20. Mathieu Cozza. 18th Man: 16. George King
Hull Starting XIII: 24. Logan Moy; 2. Harvey Barron, 4. Zak Hardaker, 3. Davy Litten; 6. Jake Arthur, 7. Aidan Sezer; 26. Hugo Salabio, 9. Amir Bourouh, 10. Harvie Hill; 11. Joe Batchelor, 39. Ethan O’Neill; 15. James Bell.
Interchange: 14. Cade Cust, 20. Yusuf Aydin, 36. Lennon Clark, 40. Max Wood. 18th Man: 32. Lloyd Kemp
Scorers
Huddersfield Tries: Patolo, Wrench, Jagger, Flanagan. Goals: Flanagan 3/4
Hull Tries: Batchelor, Litten 2. Goals: Hardaker 2/3
Scoring System: 6-0, 6-6, 6-10, HT, 12-10, 12-16, 16-16, 22-16, FT
Referee: James Vella. Video Referee: Tom Grant
Attendance: 4,215