Castleford 19 Hull FC 16: Unbeaten Tigers edge out Hull with late win

Faced with a Hull side who threw everything at them in a breathless 80 minutes, Tigers somehow found a way to win despite being second best.

The 19-16 result, in front of a 9,867 crowd at Wheldon Road, was cruel on Hull who led three times and had the greater energy, but were undone by their own mistakes and an inability to put the game away when they seemed to be getting on top.

The visitors were 16-12 ahead with six minutes to go when Castleford captain Michael Shenton sent former Hull KR player Frankie Mariano over the line with a final pass which looked to drift forward.

Marc Sneyd, the stand-off who is impressing for Castleford on a year-long loan from Salford, kicked his third conversion and sealed the win with a late drop goal.

“I don’t think we were great,” was coach Daryl Powell’s assessment of Tigers’ effort afterwards.

“To be honest, it was probably our worst performance of the season.

“Hull played well and put us under pressure, but the character of the side is fantastic and we will learn a lot of lessons from it, which is great for us.

“Hull set up to defend us in a certain way and we didn’t handle it real well. If it happens to us again we will hopefully have learned the lesson.

“The two points are the most important thing. Sometimes you have got to find a way to win when you are not playing well and I thought we did that.”

For much of the game it looked like Hull would end Castleford’s winning start to the campaign.

The visitors set off at a blistering pace and were 6-0 up before Castleford had been in possession, Fetuli Talanoa swooping over from Kirk Yeaman’s pass for a try in the second minute, which Ben Crooks converted.

Tigers levelled just four later, after a brilliant break up the middle by hooker Daryl Clark, whose form so far this season must be playing him into England contention.

Grant Millington, another player who has begun the season in impressive style, was in support and he shipped out a perfect pass which was finished by Shenton.

Hull – who lost Josh Bowden to an ankle injury – have made a habit of snapping up Castleford-produced players in recent seasons, but Gareth Ellis is one who got away from the Tigers.

A local product, he began his career with Wakefield and played for another of Castleford’s fierce rivals Leeds Rhinos before three years in Australia with Wests Tigers.

Hull didn’t see the best of him on his return to Super League last year, but he has begun this season in much stronger fashion and was unstoppable from 10 metres out off Aaron Heremaia’s pass, on 30 minutes.

Earlier in the half Ellis looked lucky to escape with only a penalty against him after running with an elbow raised into Clark.

Mariano’s clean break set up an equalising score for Castleford at the start of the second half. It looked like lack of support would kill the move, but Clark ghosted up and managed to get the ball away to Oliver Holmes, who sent Sneyd in.

Tigers’ discipline has improved since Powell took over as coach, but three successive penalties put Hull back on the front foot and paved the way for them to go ahead for the third time.

Liam Colbon came into the side for his debut in place of Tom Lineham, who broke a leg in the previous week’s win over Bradford, and he produced a remarkable acrobatic finish to dab the ball down at the corner before Shenton and Justin Carney could barge him into touch.

That followed some clever passing across the line involving Richard Horne and Crooks, whose conversion attempt was off-target.

Until Mariano’s late finish Hull looked capable of hanging on to their two point advantage, but coach Lee Radford admitted his major concern now is finding a way of turning narrow defeats into wins.

“They are the cruel ones to take,” a rueful Radford reflected afterwards. “I thought the effort of some of the players was absolutely fantastic and they deserved more out of that game than they got.

“They go on bouncing and we have lost another close one, which is disappointing. It is almost becoming a trait, it is the third time it has happened and it is something we want to eradicate real quick.

“That is three ‘what ifs’ now and the same mistakes are recurring.”

Radford had no complaints about the pass leading to Mariano’s winning try. He said: “It has been given, so no qualms. We had enough ball and enough energy to get something out of that game.”

Castleford Tigers: Tansey, Owen, Channing, Shenton, Carney, Sneyd, Finn, Lynch, Clark, Huby, Holmes, Hauraki, Millington. Substitutes: Webster, Milner, Massey,Mariano.

Hull: Shaul, Colbon, Crooks, Yeaman, Talanoa, Heremaia, Horne, Paea, Houghton, Bowden, Ellis, Tuson, Westerman. Substitutes: Watts, Whiting, Thompson, Rankin.

Referee: T Roby (Preston).