For all the pre-match talk of record scores, one-sided finals and the perceived gulf in class between the two finalists, Hull rose to the challenge magnificently to give the Cup holders a torrid time on a baking hot day in North London.

Having spent the opening period hanging on to St Helens' coat tails, Hull capitalised on a heroic defensive effort before the break – and some poor execution by their rivals – to storm into a 12-10 lead midway through the second half with two converted tries by Kirk Yeaman.

With just 18 minutes remaining the Black and White army had the famous old trophy fixed firmly in their sights, as their stunned and silent counterparts behind the posts at the other end of the stadium knew all too well.

But five minutes later the words of Hull's club anthem Ole Faithful faded away and so did a Wembley dream as St Helens showed their true colours with two acts of ruthless finishing which brought tries for Francis Meli, his second, and Jon Wilkin.

Hull stubbornly refused to accept what most people in a crowd of 82,821 knew was now inevitable and a try by Gareth Raynor signalled their defiance before Leon Pryce struck the killer blow with a fine individual score four minutes from the end.

As the hooter sounded a skirmish broke out between Jamie Thackray and Sean Long, an incident which meant Hull really did go down fighting while St Helens were actually forced to battle to win the Carnegie Challenge Cup for a third successive season.

That the final was so close testified to the spirit within a Hull team whose injury misfortune continued throughout the week.

Richard Agar, the Hull coach, had planned to build much of his game plan around Adam Dykes, the brittle but occasionally brilliant Australian scrum-half who had been so influential in their quarter-final and semi-final victories over Bradford and Wakefield.

Unfortunately for Hull the 31-year-old broke down in training on Wednesday, his knee ligaments shot after a decade in the NRL and his career almost certainly at an end, leaving Agar without a fit and healthy half-back in his team.

Dykes's latest trauma forced a call up for Richard Horne, a thin and willowy figure who must have approached his first match since a neck injury in April almost left him paralysed, with much trepidation.

Within a few seconds of taking to the field as a 17th-minute replacement for Lee Radford, Horne was given a brutal welcome back by James Graham, who slammed the scrum-half into the Wembley turf with an impressive tackle.

Shaken and stirred, Horne got back to his feet and played on until the very end, an opportunity Hull's teenage centre Tom Briscoe was cruelly denied.

Briscoe had taken to the field in the 33rd-minute but two minutes into the second half the 18-year-old suffered a suspected broken shin bone as he fell awkwardly in a tackle and was 'chaired' from the pitch by Hull's backroom staff.

There was no shortage of effort from the other Hull players but perspiration is no substitute for inspiration, especially against a team with the pedigree and potency of St Helens who in Pryce and Sean Long possess the most exciting half-back pairing in the English game.

For all the outstanding efforts of Danny Washbrook and Richard Horne, the probing of Shaun Berrigan and the occasional good touch from Tommy Lee, Hull were unable to muster the collective spark needed to leave St Helens with burnt fingers.

Washbrook has made a good fist at stand-off this summer but he is still a loose forward playing out of position; the final probably came a month too soon for Horne to impose his class; Berrigan had to spread his considerable talents too thinly; while Lee once again looked like a young man whose development has been stifled by too much first team rugby at too young an age.

Lee did set up Hull's first scoring opportunity with a lobbed kick to the left corner but when Willie Manu palmed the ball down in front of him, Raynor could not finish the half-chance.

Ninety seconds later Saints struck with clinical ease following a slip by Hull full-back Todd Byrne, who fumbled the ball at his feet after Meli had taken a forward pass from Wilkin and kicked ahead. From the scrum, Pryce and Long moved the ball wide to the right for Paul Wellens to put Matt Gidley over.

Hull had another close call when Berrigan kicked behind the advancing St Helens defence and Byrne darted through but the bounce of the ball beat the Australian, who could only push it forward over the line.

As the full-back got back to his feet St Helens took full advantage of his inability to get back into position and a quick restart by Keiron Cunningham enabled Graham to slip the ball to Meli who evaded three would-be tacklers to sprint away and score a try converted by Long.

Saints grew in confidence and stature as the half unfurled but Hull held firm through a combination of their commitment to each other in defence and a couple of offensive lapses by their opponents, who twice crossed the line only for Willie Talau and Meli to have try-claims ruled out for a forward pass and double movement, respectively.

Hull knew they were not out of it at the break and three minutes after the restart they brought their fans to their feet with a breakaway try by Yeaman, who intercepted a pass by Cunningham and raced 80 metres to score a try converted by Danny Tickle.

Saints had a try disallowed for a third time when Long galloped in through a gap created by an obstruction by Chris Flannery before a well-placed kick by Washbrook forced a slip by Wellens to set up the position from which Yeaman scored his second try.

Tickle again converted and Hull had the lead, if only for three tantalising minutes.

The dream began to die when Hull were penalised for offside near halfway and Saints built some instantaneous momentum for Meli to claim his second try. Five minutes later Wilkin charged down a relieving kick by Washbrook to regather the loose ball and race away to score.

Raynor's try narrowed the gap to six points but when Jamie Thackray lost the ball a minute later, Saints put on a move from the scrum that has served them well down the years and though Hull knew what was coming they could not stop Pryce as he powered through to score by the posts.

The game was up and Hull were beaten. Beaten but not broken.
They will be back and next time, without a broken playmaker to hold them back, things just might be different.