Hull FC 12 Warrington Wolves 10: Hull end long wait in thrilling Wembley showdown

However, the fact Hull FC had to work so hard for that previously elusive victory at the famous stadium in an utterly absorbing Ladbrokes Challenge Cup final made it all the more fitting on Saturday.

For so long, it seemed all their previous heartaches would cruelly return to haunt them once more.

They were 10-0 down on the hour mark; never mind you’ll never win at Wembley, it seemed the Black and Whites could not even score there.

Having lost 16-0 on their last appearance against Wigan Warriors in 2013, there was the very real possibility that the current Super League leaders, supposedly chasing a treble let’s not forget, would endure the utter embarrassment of being kept pointless for consecutive 80 minutes on the biggest stage.

As predicted by some, it was Warrington’s game-breakers coming to the fore – the electric hooker Daryl Clark found more and more space, the maverick Australian Chris Sandow skipped around tormenting the Hull defence while Ben Currie strode around purposefully looking every inch the England player he will surely become this autumn.

All somehow ignored the stifling conditions that saw so many exhausted players struggle to get out of second gear.

Some of Hull’s stars were making uncharacteristic errors – Mahe Fonua bizarrely kicking on the second tackle, Sika Manu fumbling on the first – and it was all a little unsettling for their thousands of fans who had descended on Wembley once more.

However, Lee Radford has assembled a squad with players full of character, a trait that can go such a long way in times of need.

Furthermore, the head coach has instilled belief in them and, in the heat of such an intense battle, that belief remained whilst others doubted it.

Granted, they needed a change of momentum, something to give them a foothold in the game.

The sight of Kurt Gidley, Warrington’s veteran Australian half-back who brings such control to their game, departing in the 59th minute with blood pouring from a head wound, was pleasing for Hull.

Warrington certainly seemed to lose their way thereafter and they missed the bulk of Ben Westwood, too, who also suffered injury.

But it was Marc Sneyd’s 40/20 kick, a skill that is so difficult but so crucial in the modern game, that gave Hull the requisite lift to transform this contest.

The resulting next set ended in a kick of another kind, a lofted chip to Fonua, the giant centre who lurked in the right corner and rose above the diminutive Sandow to claim and score.

Sneyd, the leading goalkicker in Super League, curled in the conversion from wide out in the 62nd minute and, suddenly, for all their travails, they were in touching distance of glory.

Steve Michaels thought he had scored when latching onto another probing Sneyd kick but the Warrington full-back Stefan Ratchford just got their before him to clear.

Sneyd was buoyant now, though, and when he headed in that direction for a third time in the 73rd minute, Fonua rose once more and palmed the ball back to his supporting half-back who then had Jamie Shaul on his shoulder to scramble over beneath the posts.

Again, how fitting. Shaul, the lifelong Hull fan who four years ago was working as a bricklayer, continuing his dream season with a match-wining try right in front of their delirious supporters.

“When I put that ball down, wow, it was the most important try I’ve ever scored,” recalled the 24-year-old.

“It will stay with me forever. I was screaming my lungs off for the ball when the play went out.

“I wanted that ball and nobody else was getting it. I knew if I could get it under the sticks then Marc would nail the kick.”

Shaul had also produced a stunning play of his own in the 36th minute when Sandow intercepted Frank Pritchard’s pass from near halfway and the full-back somehow made up 20m to drag the Australian down.

Admittedly, Russell scored at the next play for Gidley to make it 6-0 and Currie scored a fine try in the 54th minute after Clark’s searing break.

But even after Hull took the lead, of course, there was still more drama to come.

With barely 90 seconds remaining, Currie admitted he thought he had scored when brushing off Mark Minichiello and Sneyd. Most people in the 76,235 crowd thought he had, too.

However, no one had countered for Danny Houghton, the Hull-born hooker who it sometimes seems was born to tackle.

He somehow got across to make his 52nd of the afternoon and, agonisingly, Currie lost possession stretching for the line.

If Sneyd’s contribution was the turning point, this was the definitive one, a remarkable act that will be re-played in Wembley montages forever.

That said, Gidley will wonder how he missed a penalty in the 42nd minute that was probably as close as Wembley has seen to a Don Fox moment since 1968.

That would have stretched their lead to 12-0 but it was not to be.

This was Hull’s day. At last.

Hull FC: Shaul; Michaels, Fonua, Yeaman, Talanoa; Tuimavave, Sneyd; Watts, Houghton, Taylor, Manu, Minichiello, Ellis. Substitutes: Washbrook, Pritchard, Green, Bowden.

Warrington Wolves: Ratchford; Russell, T King, Atkins, R Evans; Gidley, Sandow; Hill, Clark, Sims, Currie, Hughes, Westerman. Substitutes: Dwyer, Westwood, Bailey, G King.

Referee: Gareth Hewer (Whitehaven).