Hull FC suffer Wembley woe

The Airlie Birds badly froze when it mattered most, delivering a meek and demoralising display to lose 16-0 against favourites Wigan Warriors in Saturday’s rain-sodden final.

An error-ridden performance generated few positives and Hull’s infamous record of never winning at Wembley continues.

Furthermore, it was the first time in 24 years a side has been kept scoreless in a final, since a ruthless Wigan side in their pomp eased past St Helens 27-0.

This Wigan team does not even nearly compare to that vintage which won eight successive deciders yet dismal Hull somehow allowed them to edge a dire affair.

They quickly meet again in the penultimate round of regular-season fixtures at DW Stadium on Friday. Although the East Yorkshire club have already secured a play-off berth, Gentle knows their hopes in the end-of-season jamboree will be shattered unless they swiftly eradicate memories of this tortuous show.

“I think we are all guilty of what has happened,” said the Australian, who conceded his side “panicked” in the greasy conditions.

“We can’t dwell on it. We’ve got to move on as we’ve got semi-finals to play.

“If we carry that sort of baggage around we will be bumpered out really quick.

“But it is a bitter pill to swallow. To come here and play like that on a big stage, we’ve got to pick ourselves up and try and stamp ourselves on the semis.”

Hapless Hull – who have now failed to win in eight attempts at Wembley – continually dropped the ball and were unable to ever build any pressure.

“I think the more we turned the ball over, the more we panicked,” admitted Gentle.

“The most disappointing thing is that we didn’t fire a shot. We just gifted them possession and tackled our backsides off all day.

“We had nothing left when we got the ball and there was some costly errors.

“We spoke all week about going 50/50 possession – that’s what we needed – but we ended up giving them an extra 54 play-the-balls than us.

“You can’t do that. It’s credit to our defence that we only conceded two tries. You can’t tackle like that and be able to attack.

“We really were our worst enemies. We are so much better than that. Wigan handled the conditions so well. They kicked better and didn’t panic. We were guilty of panicking at times.”

Gentle summed things up perfectly when he added: “I was quite happy (with trailing) 6-0 at half-time.

“I didn’t think we could play as poorly as we did the first half. But the boys proved me wrong.”

He stuck by his decision to select Ben Crooks even though the 20-try centre endured a miserable afternoon on his return from ankle surgery.

The youngster could not put a foot right – he was not alone – and Wigan clearly targeted his rustiness. But Gentle insisted: “He was our best option. I had a chat with him at half-time. He was getting frustrated at things not happening for him, but he was a bit tough on himself. There were plenty of boys out there making errors but he’s only 20. Jacob Miller had his 21st two days ago and there’s a lot of young kids out there who will benefit from that.”

Crooks departed the stadium with a protective boot on his troubled ankle making him a doubt for Friday’s rematch while captain Gareth Ellis required a pain-killing injection before going back on with a rib injury.

He drove straight home to Wetherby after the match just in time to see his wife give birth to a daughter early yesterday.

Before the final, Gentle had reportedly been set for the sack following an inconsistent year, something owner Adam Pearson denied, and this prompted more questions about his future.

But he said: “I didn’t believe it. Nothing’s changed except we were beaten in the final.”

Wigan, meanwhile, are now the first town to hold the Challenge Cup and FA Cup together.