A penalty-goal proved to be the difference as Hull FC Reserves lost 24-22 to Wakefield Trinity Reserves at the DIY Kitchens Stadium.
Ultimately, goal-kicking decided the final outcome in West Yorkshire, with Hull outscoring Wakefield by five tries to four, but failing to tag on the extras from tricky wide positions.
Callum Shaw’s first-half brace clawed Hull back into the contest, before Ben Johnson’s try cut the gap to six points at the break. Callum Kemp and Ryan Westerman scored later on in the second-half, but Will Brough’s penalty-goal with just over five minutes remaining separated the two sides at the end of a very hard-fought affair.
The Match
Both sides put forward good accounts of themselves inside the opening ten minutes, but a bizarre try gave Wakefield the lead on the ten minute mark. The ball slipped from the grasp of Ashton Winks under Sully Medforth’s challenge, allowing Myles Lawford to pounce from close range, despite Hull’s claims of a knock on.
Trinity stretched further in front just five minutes later when Harvey Smith’s short pass from dummy-half saw the power play executed to good effect as Ellis Lingard bulldozed his way over the try line.
For the first time in the opening 20 minutes, Hull finally had a look at the Trinity try line. And they made sure they made the most of the opportunity. A trademark sweeping move to the left edge saw Ryan Westerman put Shaw away in the left corner.
But Hull failed to capitalise on their first points of the evening and found themselves further behind once again. They were stretched on the left edge, and when Amir Sghaier grubbered back on the inside, Dom Sinfield gathered possession and dotted down.
Trailing 18-4, Hull were unwilling to submit to their West Yorkshire opponents, and launched another counter-attack. Jack Walker’s sensational cutout pass sent Shaw on his way, but the effort needed some finishing as the winger rounded two Trinity defenders to score in the left corner.
The assault from the away side continued right up until half-time, with an example that hard work sometimes does result in reward. Ben Johnson’s kick pressure on Lawford saw the ball ricochet off his boot and back into his grasp, racing into the clear to score from 40 metres out.
HALF-TIME: Trinity Reserves 18-12 Hull Reserves
An energised Hull re-emerged from the sheds after half-time with the bit between their teeth, forcing an early goal-line drop-out.
But all of the Hull pressure was soaked up by a resilient Wakefield, and when Dom Sinfield offloaded to Tom Delaney, the visitors were unable to scramble back to prevent the winger from finishing the move after some support from hooker Smith.
Trailing by ten points once again, Hull found a timely response with little more than 20 minutes remaining as Kemp continued his fine form with a stuttering run over the whitewash from dummy-half.
Desperate for their first win of the season, Wakefield ensured they kept the scoreboard ticking by knocking over a penalty-goal with six minutes remaining for a late hit on the kicker.
But Ashton Winks spilled the kick-off restart and Hull licked their lips at the prospect of scoring a fifth try of the evening. Walker’s sly dummy allowed him to get the arm free and offload to Westerman, who slid in to score at the left corner, leaving him with the task of converting to level the scores.
But his attempt from the touchline sailed wayward, and Hull remained behind by two points.
Despite their best efforts in the very closing stages, the Black & Whites were unable to work their way over the line for a sixth time, and suffered a narrow defeat at the DIY Kitchens Stadium
FULL-TIME: Trinity Reserves 24-22 Hull Reserves
Squads & Scorers
Hull: Walker, Ward, Johnson, Westerman, Shaw, Kemp, Medforth, Laidlaw, Hodgson, Maull (DR), Kirby, Armstrong, Thompson (DR)
Hull Interchanges: Baker, Stewart, Turner, Windley (DR)
Hull Tries: Shaw (2), Johnson, Kemp, Westerman
Hull Goals: Westerman (1/5)
Trinity: Ratcliffe, Sghaier, Sinfield, Brough, Delaney, Phillips, Lawford, Lingard, Smith, Shaw, Winks, Staveley-Carr, McSwiney
Trinity Interchanges: Briggs, Easton, Maher, Walker-Smith
Trinity Tries: Lawford, Lingard, Sinfield, Delaney
Trinity Goals: Brough (4/5)
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