Webster left deflated as Hull snatch draw at Wakefield

The decision to appoint James Webster as coach has sparked a Wakefield revival and they looked to have built on wins over London and Wigan after Nick Scruton’s late try, but Westerman converted Kirk Yeaman’s try from out wide to earn the Black and Whites a 20-20 draw.

There was nothing to separate the teams at the end of a closely-fought first half, Hull centre Setaimata Sa’s opener cancelled out by Richard Mathers on the stroke of half-time.

Good work by Sa laid on a try for Richard Horne and that set the tone for an entertaining second period.

Chris Riley and Reece Lyne crossed either side of a Yeaman effort to make it 14-14 with less than a quarter of the match remaining.

Scruton looked to have won it for Wakefield, only for Yeaman and Westerman to combine to cut the party short.

“We got a point today against a really good team,” said Webster. “If you match them (the two teams) up salary cap-wise, they are well ahead of us. For us to guts it out the way we did, I’m proud of my team again.

“(But) we made it difficult for ourselves at times. The reason I’m a bit deflated is we were winning with a minute-and-a-half to go.

“We’ve got a group of boys in there who are disappointed. Six weeks ago, the way we were travelling, we probably would have been over the moon to get a point against Hull FC. Our mindset has changed; we want to progress as a club.”

The draw meant Hull failed to gain revenge for Wakefield’s come-from-behind victory in East Yorkshire last month, but coach Lee Radford was ultimately pleased to take something from Belle Vue.

“We set out every week trying to get the two points and I thought with five or six minutes to go that opportunity had slipped, so to come away with a point was pretty pleasing,” said the Black and Whites head coach.

“I thought we started the better side but momentum certainly swung their way in the second half.

“We saw last week (against Wigan) and at the KC Stadium that they are a tidy side when they’ve got a bit of momentum and some wind in their sails.”

The point saw the Airlie Birds move to within four points of Widnes, who hold the final play-off spot, and Radford admitted his men could not afford to lose many more games.

He added: “Our points difference is better than theirs so we are four points off the play-offs. We said before this week we can’t afford to slip up and the same rule applies (for the forthcoming matches).”

Wakefield: Mathers, Owen, Ryan, Lyne, Riley, Sykes, T. Smith, Anderson, McShane, Scruton, Gilmour, Kirmond, Washbrook. Substitutes: Godinet, Moore, D. Smith, Tautai.

Hull: Shaul, Lineham, Sa, Yeaman, Talanoa, Abdull, Horne, Paea, Houghton, Watts, Ellis, Tuson, Westerman. Substitutes: Paleaaesina, Thompson, Heremaia, Whiting.

Referee: R Silverwood (RFL).