Super League: Hull FC hold off Castleford Tigers fightback for victory
Darnell McIntosh, Liam Sutcliffe, and Adam Swift scored in the first half to give the Black and Whites the advantage and ultimately secure the 32-30 win; Castleford Tigers fought back through Kenny Edwards, Bureta Faraimo, and Jake Mamo
Last Updated: 20/02/23 10:06am
Hull FC did just enough to hold off a stunning Castleford fightback to start life under new head coach Tony Smith with a 32-30 win and start their 2023 Super League campaign off on the right foot.
The Black and Whites were electric for just short of an hour, racing into a 32-6 lead, but four late Cas tries in the final quarter had the nerves jangling and set up an intense final few minutes, with Hull ultimately doing just enough to hold on.
- St Helens win World Club Challenge with dramatic golden point victory
- Salford Red Devils crash Leigh Leopards' party to take victory
- Stream the 2023 Betfred Super League season on NOW | Get Sky Sports
Tex Hoy and Jake Clifford pulled the strings for the hosts, who executed brilliantly at times, but the creativity of new Tigers halves Gareth Widdop and Jacob Miller ensured a grandstand finish, in which Castleford ultimately paid for a poor opening half.
Story of the game
Hull took the lead inside 10 minutes with a well-worked try from Darnell McIntosh, who walked in from a lovely pass from Hoy. The hosts doubled their tally on the next set when Liam Sutcliffe raced in for a debut try on the back of a break from Brad Dwyer.
It was all Hull early and the Black and Whites made it three successive tries, with McIntosh grabbing his second, controlling the ball brilliantly with his foot to score his second out wide.
The Tigers needed to respond and, on the back of a penalty, did just that, with Widdop creating space for former Hull man Bureta Faraimo to score in the corner and give Cas a lifeline.
The reprieve was short lived though, as FC hit back with two more tries before the break, with Hoy again instrumental in providing Adam Swift with enough space to stroll over on the left twice in six minutes to give Hull a commanding half-time advantage.
The writing looked to be on the wall for the Tigers in the second half as Danny Houghton barged over after Ben McNamara jumped on a wayward kick to put Hull in complete control.
However, Lee Radford's men wouldn't die wondering, offloading at will to score four tries in succession to almost snatch the game.
Kenny Edwards raced in on the left and was joined on the scoresheet by Miller minutes later to cut the gap to three scores, before Faraimo added a second on the right and when Jake Mamo reached over with five to go, it was anyone's game.
Hull threw everything they had defensively to shut Castleford down in the final minutes and did enough to secure a valuable two points.
What they said
Hull FC head coach Tony Smith:
"It was an entertaining game, and no one can go home saying they weren't entertained by both teams," Smith said.
"I didn't think they (Cas) did much with the ball in the first half but they came alive in the second and we allowed
them to do so.
"I thought our first half was really good with the ball, but I thought defensively we weren't great, and it got worse in the second half.
"It impacted our attack in the second half. We got a little bit kick happy and let Cas off the hook, whereas in the first half we were a lot more ruthless."
Castleford Tigers head coach Lee Radford:
"It's not the result or performance I wanted. I was really disappointed with the start, it took us 60 minutes to get going," he said.
"It says a lot about either side's defence with the 32-30 scoreline.
"We've had a lot of time to build up to this fixture so that's what was disappointing, to see us so reluctant to play tough early on and take them (Hull to a tough place) was disgusting."
What's Next?
Hull FC are back in action on Friday as they travel to face Leeds Rhinos, live on Sky Sports Arena at 8pm. The Castleford Tigers face the prospect of a visit from the newly crowned World Club champions St Helens on Sunday 26 February, with kick off at 1pm.
