Hull 10-14 Wigan: Warriors move to within six points of table toppers St Helens
By PA
Last Updated: 16/06/18 8:49pm
Wigan moved to within six points of Super League leaders St Helens after beating Hull FC 14-10 at the KCOM Stadium.
In a bizarre finale, Wigan went for a drop goal to win the game, but when the ball rebounded off the crossbar, they caught Hull napping to score a try and end their three-game losing streak.
Hull missed out on the chance to return to the top four after coming from 8-0 down to lead 10-8 with 10 minutes to play.
Both sides were prepared to throw the ball around early on and it was Wigan who came close to scoring first but Tom Davies was bundled into touch before he could ground the ball in the right corner.
After a frantic first quarter, the Warriors eventually took the lead in the 25th minute.
A Hull attack broke down 10 metres from the Wigan line with George Williams intercepting a pass and releasing the faster Liam Marshall to take the visitors deep into Hull territory.
In the next play, Williams' kick was grounded by Dan Sarginson just before Hakim Miloudi pushed him out of play. Sam Tomkins made it 6-0 with the conversion.
Tomkins was again on target on the half-hour mark when he added a penalty to make it 8-0.
Hull's attack let them down at vital times, which kept them scoreless for the first 36 minutes, with a series of dropped passes frustrating Lee Radford's side.
When their attack did click, it worked a treat as Bureta Faraimo powered his way through two Wigan defenders to score after having the presence of mind to ground the ball under the posts making the conversion easier.
Jake Connor, called up for England's mid-season Test against New Zealand in Denver, obliged to make it 8-6 just before half-time.
The second half began simultaneously with a thunderstorm but that did little to unsettle Hull who resumed in the same manner they ended the first.
A flowing move from left to right was finished in style by Faraimo to score his second try of the game and his 11th in the league this season.
Connor could not add the conversion, but for the first time in the game Hull were in front at 10-8.
Wigan came close to regaining the lead with 12 minutes remaining but a forward pass from Oliver Gildart to Marshall ruled out the winger's try.
However, on the very next play, Jack Logan lost possession of the ball in a tackle, gifting Wigan a short field to play with.
Hull's problems mounted when they conceded a penalty 21 metres out and in front of the posts. Tomkins made no mistake and drew the sides level at 10-10 with 10 minutes to play.
Hull felt they should have had a penalty when Albert Kelly was hit after sending a high kick deep into Wigan territory but Tony Clubb's challenge went unpunished.
In a bizarre twist, Tomkins' drop goal rebounded off the crossbar, and into the arms of Sean O'Loughlin who did not panic.
Wigan had numbers outside on their left wing where Marshall glided over the line to win the two points for the Warriors. Tomkins missed the conversion, but his side were able to run the clock down and secure victory.
