Castleford Tigers 30 Hull FC 22: Hosts highlight job facing John Cartwright to pull clear of bottom two

The Black and Whites slumped to a 10th consecutive defeat at Castleford Tigers on Friday night to leave them in danger of a straight shootout with London Broncos to avoid the wooden spoon.

But for an unconvincing home win over the Broncos in early March, Hull would be winless in 2024.

London gained revenge in the capital before the Challenge Cup break and must be fancying their chances of leapfrogging the Airlie Birds after seeing them lose out to another struggling side at Wheldon Road.

If Hull cannot beat the Broncos or Castleford, it is hard to see where their next win is going to come from.

The one positive for the Black and Whites is that there is no threat of relegation. Without the new grading system, they would be in deep trouble.

By contrast, the Tigers have shown green shoots of progress under Craig Lingard and now find themselves five points clear of the bottom two after a third win of the year.

Castleford were far from perfect but there was a lot to like about their performance, not least the effort and endeavour.

Tex Hoy scored the try of the game just nine minutes into his reunion with Hull but the writing was on the wall even before that sparkling moment.

Although he returned soon after, the sight of Brad Fash being forced off for a head injury assessment just seconds into his first appearance of the season did little for the confidence of the visiting fans who have become accustomed to fearing the worst.

In that sense, the early stages went to script as Castleford took advantage of Hull's vulnerabilities to open up a 12-0 lead in Fash's absence.

Joe Westerman was the architect of the opening try, Sam Hall steaming onto his inside ball before keeping his cool to give Liam Horne a clear run to the line.

In the next set, Hoy took centre stage to add to his old side's misery.

Corey Hall's flick pass gave Jason Qareqare half an opening and the winger passed back inside to Hoy who chipped over the advancing Logan Moy to score a classy try.

Hull belatedly settled into the contest but needed a gift from the hosts to issue a response.

Innes Senior – fresh from signing a permanent deal – dropped the ball near his own line and former Castleford half-back Jake Trueman accepted the invitation to put Harvey Barron over with a long pass to the wing.

After debutant Ben Reynolds reduced the deficit to six points from the touchline, the Black and Whites began to take control behind Danny Houghton's kicking game.

But not for the first time in 2024, they shot themselves in the foot to hand the initiative back to the opposition.

Liam Sutcliffe was the guilty party, spilling Rowan Milnes' grubber kick to allow the half-back to touch down.

The centre atoned for the error as half-time approached after Castleford returned the favour with another gift of their own.

Hoy threw a pass 15 metres from the Hull line that was read by former team-mate Sutcliffe who raced clear to score.

For all the effort and the odd flash of quality, the mistakes showed why the two teams are in a battle with London at the bottom.

There was enough evidence in the first half to make a case for Castleford pulling away and so it proved.

Paul McShane had a try ruled out for obstruction but the Tigers did not have to wait long to put the game to bed.

Milnes' kick to the corner was knocked back by Corey Hall and Sylvester Namo was in the right place to collect the loose ball and put Qareqare over out wide.

When Hall finished from Milnes' neat grubber five minutes later, Hull knew their race was run.

The away side started to find some rhythm with the game gone but two late consolation tries through Tiaki Chan and Trueman were scant consolation for the loyal travelling supporters packed in behind the posts.

Castleford Tigers: Hoy, Qareqare, C Hall, Wood, I Senior, Milnes, McShane, Griffin, Horne, S Hall, Mellor, El-Zakhem, Westerman. Substitutes: Watts, Hodson, Namo, Hill.

Tries: Horne (7), Hoy (9), Milnes (31), Qareqare (50), C Hall (55)

Goals: Milnes 5/5

Hull FC: Moy, Briscoe, Scott, Sutcliffe, Barron, Reynolds, Trueman, Ese'ese, Houghton, Aydin, Lane, Sao, Fash. Substitutes: Ashworth, Chan, Zebson, Smith.

Tries: Barron (22), Sutcliffe (36), Chan (65), Trueman (74)

Goals: Reynolds 3/4

Referee: Aaron Moore.