Hull FC 22 Salford Red Devils 28: More mistakes ruin chance of Hull comeback

Flickers of positivity, not least from the excellent Jordan Lane and two-try Jamie Shaul, were ultimately far outweighed by the usual needless mistakes to gift their opponents victory.

Andy Last was without his first-choice half-backs, Marc Sneyd joining Albert Kelly on the sidelines after being left out as a Covid-related precaution.

But Jake Connor was too sporadic once more and too many of his colleagues - knocked out of the Challenge Cup last week - were too brittle when it came to defending their own line against Salford Red Devils.

Things had started well with Connor and Josh Griffin combining nicely for Shaul to cross.

But Krisnan Inu replied far too easily and even when his side were reduced to 12 men, when full-back Dan Sarginson was sin-binned for a needless high tackle on Shaul in the 21st minute, the East Yorkshire club struggled.

Salford almost crossed themselves when prop Gil Dudson showed near footwork to leave Joe Cator rooted, Connor - filling in at full-back as Shaul went for a HIA - required to haul him down.

Hull did create a fine try of their own, Ligi Sao’s short, disguised pass sending fellow forward Andre Savelio over untouched when all the Salford defence expected the ball to be shifted wide.

Connor’s conversion make it 12-6 but, as is so often the case, a hapless mistake invited Salford in.

Mahe Fonua was being pushed back towards his own line but he should still not have offloaded. He did and 12-man Salford gained possession, Pauli Pauli charging close to allow Joey Lussick the chance to get over the top of Jordan Lane.

Krisnan Inu’s conversion levelled matters but his side took the lead after a thoughtless tackle from Fash - third man in around knees of Seb Ikahihifo - saw them concede yet another penalty.

From there, his team-mates should still have defended better but they remained fragile around their own line, illustrated as Inu latched on to Brown’s fine long pass and then showed too much power to get over Fonua.

He converted from out wide for an 18-12 interval lead and that was extended further when Danny Houghton this time produced a ill-conceived offload that never looked like finding a team-mate.

The captain’s error, 40m from Salford’s line, should have been benign but there is no such thing when Tui Lolohea is around.

Early in the resulting set, the Samoa stand-off tipped off his winger Rhys Williams about a chip forward and it bounced up perfectly for him to race in for a 22-12 lead.

That said, soon after the duo combined poorly, Lolohea’s miscued high kick swatted down by his team-mate only as far as Josh Griffin who set off downfield to set up position for Shaul to score his 100th club try, Connor once more providing the assist with a timely pass.

Manu Ma’u surged clear from the restart but Shaul marginally over-ran in support and could not collect the pass. It was a crucial moment; Sarginson, instead, charged the other way and 37-year-old former England stand-off Brown finished off the set with his classic show and go to set up Andy Ackers.

Once more, Andy Last’s side were far too brittle.

Nevertheless, Lane, the young, local back-row who remains one of their best players amid all the superstars, cut a superb line to race through off Connor’s pass and then stunned Sarginson with a turn of pace to score from 40m out.

Connor converted and, with 14 minutes still to go and trailing just 28-22, it should have set up a grandstand finish.

However, Hull fans have grown to expect the worst and, typically, too many basic handling errors meant Last's side never truly got near rescuing this.

Hull FC: Shaul; Scott, Fonua, Griffin, Faraimo; Tuimamave, Connor; Bowden, Houghton, Satae, Lane, Manu, Sau. Substitutes: Brown, Cator, Fash, Savelio.

Salford Red Devils: Sarginson; Williams, Watkins, Welham, Inu; Brown, Lolohea; Dudson, Lussick, Yates, Roberts, Ormondroyd, Flanagan. Substitutes: Pauli, Ikihifiao, Burke, Ackers.

Referee: Chris Kendall (Huddersfield)