Lee Radford credited all 17 players in Hull FC's comeback win
Sunday 12 July 2015 18:59, UK
Hull FC coach Lee Radford paid credit to the depth of his squad, which he said was the difference in his side's win over Castleford.
His side fought back from a 14-6 deficit to come away with a hugely important 21-18 win, with all four replacements making contributions in the victory.
The win puts two league points between his side and ninth-placed rivals Hull KR, with the two meeting next weekend.
"Our bench was huge for us," Radford said. "It needed to be a 17-man performance too.
"We had to scrap for it against a very good side. We knew Castleford would be tough and they didn't disappoint.
"At this stage, we'll take any win as it comes. It is a very important two points."
Radford said his side's ability to set the pace of the second half played a big part in overturning their opponents' lead.
"The tempo of the ruck in the first half had a knock on effect for us but we got to grips with that in second half. We slowed it down and got more energy," he added.
"When our passes stuck, we showed what a quality side we can be. We are four points clear in eighth and four points off fourth spot too. Points difference will be really important and we need to build on this."
Castleford coach Daryl Powell bemoaned his side's poor second-half showing, as his troops squandered a healthy lead.
He hinted that his side had potentially underestimated their opponents with Gareth Ellis, Mark Minichiello and Mickey Paea watching from the sidelines.
"Did we take them lightly with Ellis, Mini and Paea," Powell said."If we did, we shouldn't have.
"The second half was abysmal and after being 14-6 up we were unrecognisable. The second half was as bad I've seen since I've been in charge.
"I think it was evident they wanted to win it more and we made too many errors. We had big opportunities and we are asking questions as to why we didn't take chances in front of us.
"We are still in a good spot and we need to learn lessons. We ran out of gas but then we found some at the end but we didn't deserve to win."
