Salford 42 Hull FC 14: ‘We capitulated in the last 20’ admits stunned Brett Hodgson

The hosts trailed the Betfred Super League contest 14-12 after 58 minutes but then scored five tries in a devastating spell to deal a huge blow to Hull’s hopes of finishing in the play-off spots.

Winger Ken Sio scored four tries while Krisnan Inu kicked seven goals from as many attempts, with the other tries coming from Chris Atkin, Harvey Livett and Joe Burgess.

Hodgson said: “What really disappointed me was that we capitulated in the last 20. We are all hurting at the moment. It was really disappointing.

“It’s definitely back to the drawing board but we have got to find a way through that lack of confidence. We are missing some players and the confidence is diminished because of that.”

Hull were in front after tries from Ligi Sao and Danny Houghton, Marc Sneyd converting both and kicking a penalty, before their stunning collapse.

Asked why he thought his side had struggled in the final quarter, Hodgson replied: “Our set endings were very poor and we failed to apply pressure.

“It’s difficult to point out what exactly went wrong; we lacked resilience, which is something we’ve not lacked all season.”

When questioned about Hull’s chances of making the play-offs, Hodgson said: “We are too far from where we need to be.

“While there’s a mathematical chance we have to make sure we win every game. If we play like we played today we are not going to be there.

“We need to focus on the simple things. Rugby league is an easy game if you run hard and make your tackles. We just weren’t willing to do what was required. I thought we came here with a survival mentality rather than going after the game.

“Everyone will be hurting, fans included. Whenever there’s a chance we will keep fighting. There’s a possibility we can get there.”

Salford: Escare, Sio, Inu, Sarginson, Burgess, Lolohea, Higano, Ormondroyd, Atkin, Johnson, Livett, Robson, Burke. Substitutes: Luckley, Roberts, Lannon, Addy.

Hull: Connor, Swift, Scott, Wynne, Faraimo, McNamara, Sneyd, Satae, Houghton, Sao, Savelio, Ma’u, Lane. Substitutes: Bowden, Fash, Fonua, Johnstone.

Referee: Scott Mikalauskas (RFL)