Round 16
Hull FC 9 drew Huddersfield Giants 9

2007 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Hull FC and Huddersfield battle out low scoring draw
Mon June 4, 2007
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Hull FC and Huddersfield Giants shared the spoils at the KC Stadium in a clash the home side will feel they should have won at a canter.

Peter Sharp's men bossed possession throughout and only the lack of a creative presence in the halves prevented them making their dominance count and recording a double over the Giants.

As it was, Chris Thorman and Richard Horne traded drop-goals in the last five minutes to provide some drama, although Hull would have had the game wrapped up but for a lack of invention and some sterling Huddersfield defence.

Aside from Horne's 77th-minute point, Hull's only other contributions to the scoreboard came from Danny Tickle, whilst Thorman posted all nine of Huddersfield's points.

There is no doubt Giants boss Jon Sharp was the more fortunate of the two coaches however, although his side's defensive work - especially in the first half when Kirk Yeaman and Graeme Horne were stopped in their tracks - ensured they remain well in the play-off picture.

The first half was an intriguing affair, especially as Huddersfield only had one attack of any note, which saw captain Thorman post their only try.

The rest of their effort was spent in defence as Hull probed tirelessly for an opening, although the disappointing kicking game of Hull's half-back pairing of Horne and Tommy Lee failed to trouble them too severely.

Much has been made of Horne and Lee since the departure of Paul Cooke, with Sharp admitting he will not be adding to his creative options before the end of the season.

Horne never lacks effort and is a tremendous tackler whilst Lee is ever willing to put boot to ball, but neither have yet shown that they can consistently create try-scoring opportunities.

Lee kicked Huddersfield's defence around the park for the majority of the first half, largely without consequence, although he almost created a try for Yeaman with a neat chip only for an unkind bounce to stop the centre progressing to the line.

That apart, Hull relied on the organisation of Richard Swain from hooker to co-ordinate their attack, but their support play was too often absent which led to them falling behind.

Kevin Brown's superb 15th-minute offload created a gap for Ryan Hudson and, after drawing in Shaun Briscoe, the hooker fed the supporting Thorman who crossed and then added a subsequent goal to open up a six-point lead which remained untroubled until the interval.

Hull finally gave their supporters something to cheer about six minutes after the restart, with Tickle adding a try and goal of his own.

His score came after substitute Danny Washbrook carved an opening and handed him the simplest of runs to the line, with the conversion nothing more than a formality.

Huddersfield responded well and only a deliberate knock-on from Briscoe prevented them scoring in the corner.

With Yeaman down in back play and Hull a man light in defence, Hudson's looping pass was set to hand Martin Aspinwall a walk-in try until the full-back's intervention.

Tickle then punted a 39-metre penalty to hand his side the lead, before Swain marred an otherwise faultless display by opting not to supply Briscoe with an easy ball after breaking clear of the Huddersfield chasers.

With both sides then looking for one last opening, Thorman thought he had secured an unlikely win courtesy of his 20-metre effort before Horne went down to the other end and responded in kind.

Report source: www.superleague.co.uk

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