Hull hang on to victory

Hull were pushed to the limit by Super League's bottom club Catalans Dragons but managed to grind out a 10-8 win at the KC Stadium.

The hosts headed into the half-time break level at 8-8 having passed-up several opportunities to take a decisive advantage over their French opponents.

But the Dragons responded after the interval and looked as if they could stage a shock victory over the fourth-placed side.

Danny Tickle nailed a penalty for Hull with 15 minutes to go and then the Black and Whites stood firm on their own try-line to close out the victory.

It seemed as though Hull would be heading for the expected comfortable win as they overwhelmed the visitors in the opening stages, with the first try being scored on 11 minutes.

Pressure

Danny Houghton was stopped by Greg Mounis but the Catalans defence eventually buckled under the pressure as Jordan Turner carried the ball over for his fourth try in as many games.

But the visitors were back on level terms when Casey McGuire sneaked over from close range just before the 20 minute mark.

Sebastien Raguin nailed the conversion to give Catalans the lead but Hull hit back almost immediately.

Richard Whiting was the creator as his chipped kick-off was collected by Tickle before Whiting received the ball again to go over in the corner for his ninth score of the season.

Tom Briscoe could have had another try for the hosts but was instead bundled into touch and Turner threw a forward pass when Whiting had an overlap.

Missed chances

Catalans made Hull pay for the missed opportunities when Thomas Bosc nailed a 45-metre penalty on the stroke of half-time to send the teams into the break level.

After the restart, both sides had chanced to score but Setaimata Sa's tackle on Kirk Yeaman prevented the hosts from taking the lead and Jordan Tansey made a fine tackle to stop Dane Carlaw crossing the try-line.

It was then the Dragons who had the better of the play and Frederic Vaccari looked to have given them the lead but was denied by Shaun Berrigan's fantastic last-ditch tackle.

Hull's hopes then took a major blow on 60 minutes as veteran Sean Long was forced off with an arm injury after a collision with Carlaw.

But Sa's late shot on Briscoe allowed Tickle to slot a penalty through the posts in what proved to be the decisive moment of the match.

Catalans threw everything at the hosts in the dying stages and came agonisingly close to crossing the whitewash but Hull hung on for a hard-fought win.