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Huddersfield fail to deliver hat-trick as Tigers triumph
Huddersfield Giants 6 Castleford Tigers 13 engage super league
IT COULD not quite eradicate all the pain of their Challenge Cup defeat by Huddersfield but Castleford Tigers had much cause for celebration after completing an edifying victory last night.
The win ended a five-match losing sequence, helped avenge both the 16-14 Cup reverse and a similarly close 26-24 Super League defeat earlier in the season and, more importantly, instilled some much-needed self-belief into team which has lost its way in recent months.
In a dour match the Tigers took full advantage of a Huddersfield side which never seemed likely to secure win No 3 and who were thwarted at nearly every turn by their rivals' unyielding defensive resolve.
A late try by Leroy Cudjoe did threaten to undo Castleford's good work before Rangi Chase, the Tigers' most dangerous player, closed the door an any comeback with a 77th-minute drop-goal.
The Huddersfield players had trailed from the pitch at the interval to a chorus of boos from their own supporters who had every right to vent their feelings after an awful performance by the Giants.
It was not that the men in claret and gold could not create scoring opportunities, for they carved out chances aplenty, more that they invariably lost all composure each time they got near th Castleford line.
Their fecklessness was perfectly demonstrated on 34 minutes when Luke Robinson scampered clear from just inside the Castleford half to find full-back Michael Owen as the last line of defence. With Jamahl Lolesi to his left and Leroy Cudjoe on his right, Huddersfield looked certain scorers but Robinson wiggled his hips one time too many and fatally delayed a clumsy pass which Lolesi duly spilled just short of the line.
Huddersfield plumbed new depths two minutes before the break by conceding a ridiculous penalty through Danny Sculthorpe who, in possession, held on to Ryan Boyle in an effort to hoodwink Steve Ganson, the St Helens referee who was having none of it.
The penalty was duly kicked by Kirk Dixon to give the visitors a 12-0 half-time lead, an advantage the winger had opened with the first try after just six minutes.
Castleford will rarely score a more simple-looking try all season than the one which saw Dixon squeeze over in the corner after Owen had sent Joe Westerman breezing through a hole in the Huddersfield defence.
Dixon could not convert from the touchline but landed the more straight-forward goal from in front of the posts following a gift of a try by Ryan McGoldrick.
The Australian has developed an unfortunate reputation for giving away interceptions but snatched one himself by collecting a sloppy pass by Giants captain Brett Hodgson and galloping away to score.
Invigorated by some strong words from coach Nathan Brown, Huddersfield emerged in determined mood to spend all but a couple of minutes of the third quarter camped deep inside their opponents' half.
However for all the pressure that forced Castleford to drop-out from between their own posts on three occasions the Giants could find no way through until the 67th-minute.
Castleford were indebted to Owen's resilience at the back where the teenager twice pulled off try-saving tackles, the second a fine effort in which he pulled down the runaway Paul Whatuira and slid him into touch.
Owen could do nothing about the try that brought Huddersfield roaring back into the match with 13 minutes remaining, a score which came from a repeat set after Dean Widders had knocked on attempting to smother a loose pass.
Just two tackles later Huddersfield clicked into gear in some style with a slick passing move featuring Brett Hodgson, Kevin Brown, Robinson, Simon Finnigan and Stephen Wild, who put Cudjoe in the right corner.
Brett Hodgson coolly slotted over the conversion and Huddersfield were right back in it until Chase's drop-goal secured the win Castleford deserved.
With Brent Sherwin (foot) and Ryan Hudson (broken arm) within weeks of a return to action, victory provided a timely boost for the Tigers and lifted them back into a play-off position.
john.ledger@ypn.co.uk
Huddersfield Giants: B Hodgson; Cudjoe, Lolesi, Whatuira, D Hodgson; Brown, Robinson; Mason, Moore, Griffin, Wild Crabtree, Finnigan. Substitutes: Faiumu, Fulton, Raleigh, Sculthorpe.
Castleford Tigers: Owen; Wainwright, Shenton, Widders, Dixon; Faumuina, McGoldrick; Sargent, Chase, Huby, Ferres, Jones, Westerman. Substitutes: Higgins, Boyle, Clayton, Netherton.
Referee: S Ganson (St Helens).
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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