St Helens reclaimed second place in
the engage Super League after digging deep to see off a battling Hull
FC side at the KC Stadium.
The visitors withstood a barrage of pressure in the second half as
Hull, stung after the departure of coach Peter Sharp last week,
produced a performance that belied their 11th place in the table.
Saints led 10-4 at half-time after Jon Wilkin and Ste Tyrer tries
but it was not until Leon Pryce barged over after the hour their
victory began to look secure.
Yet even then they could not breathe easily as the Airlie Birds,
despite being without playmaker Shaun Berrigan for much of the game,
impressed caretaker coach Ricard Agar by fighting to the end.
Saints looked dangerous in the opening quarter and continually broke
the Hull line from deep. They took the lead after only five minutes as
James Roby set Wilkin racing away to score.
Hull then threatened a breakaway try of their own as Craig Hall
scooped up a loose ball and sprinted clear but referee Richard
Silverwood pulled back play after deeming both sides to have knocked on.
Francis Meli was the next to pierce the Hull defence as Saints
threatened again but Lee Gilmour’s sprint for the line was brilliantly
stopped just short by Willie Manu.
The ball was quickly recycled but Hull captain Lee Radford denied
Tyrer with another excellent tackle. Saints pushed again on their next
tackle but the chance was eventually lost as Roby failed to cling on
while diving for the line.
Wilkin and Meli combined to peg Hull back again in their next attack
and this time there was no let-off as Pryce kept the ball alive on the
last tackle and Matt Gidley’s superb flick put Tyrer in out wide.
Long added a good conversion but Hull finished the first half
strongly and it took a good Willie Talau tackle to halt a charging
Jamie Thackray.
Hull got themselves back into the game two minutes before the
interval as Gareth Raynor pushed a Todd Byrne kick back inside for Kirk
Yeaman.
The ball went to ground but Yeaman was quick to pounce, kicking it past Gidley and a slow-to-react Sean Long to touch down.
Hull started the second half strongly but Saints produced some
excellent defence to repel four successive sets behind their own
20-metre line.
Two penalties in quick succession finally earned the visitors some
respite just after the hour and Pryce took full advantage as he powered
his way over for his side’s third try.
Long surprisingly missed the conversion but a penalty late on made sure of the points.
Hull at least finished with a flourish and claimed a deserved second
try as Raynor went over in the left corner in the final minute.
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