Saints stretched their lead at the top of the table to eight points with a 34-18 win at Hull FC writes saintsrlfc.com
Jonny Lomax and Ben Barba each grabbed braces as Justin Holbrook’s men fought back from 18-10 down in the second half.
James Roby inspired two of those Lomax’ finishes in a 15 minute burst that saw them score four tries to flip the game right on its head.
Luke Thompson then powered over from distance to seal the win.
Whilst the margin of victory was comfortable, Saints were pushed all the way by their hosts.
Lee Radford had his team charged up from the off and they scored after just 50 seconds.
Albert Kelly found a gap on the right hand side and worked space for Bureta Faraimo to power over.
More chances followed but Saints weathered the pressure and hit back through Tommy Makinson.
Barba linking up with Danny Richardson to send the centre through a gap.
Hull had one chalked off for a knock on shortly afterwards – whist at the other end Lomax was unlucky not to haul in Dom Peyroux’s acrobatic offload on the last tackle.
Saints weren’t going to let any more opportunities go through and in the 28th minute they took the lead through Barba.
After forcing a knock on from Richardson’s high ball a blind side move from the scrum saw the full back glide over for his 24th of the season.
Hull hit back as Faraimo stretched high to catch a lofted pass just before half time – and they almost took the lead as the hooter sounded too but Regan Grace was alert to a chip to the corner.
HT: Hull FC 8 Saints 10.
Like the first half, Hull came out of the blocks fired up and wiped out Saints’ slender advantage eight minutes in.
Barba was firstly trapped in goal to hand FC a repeat set and then the visitors broke up another move.
But when it came back a third time, sweet passing saw defenders committing themselves and Jansin Turgut having a clear run to the line.
And it got worse as on the very next set Albert Kelly stepped his way over for 18-10.
This Saints side are made of stronger stuff though and they got back into it within seconds before the floodgates opened.
Firstly, a classy offload from James Roby sent Lomax away, creating the space for Barba to drift through the defence for his second.
Our Captain fantastic then found Lomax with a superb ball to put his side ahead.
Saints were rampant and the third came quickly afterwards; Lomax breaking two tackles and dummying twice before going over.
And in the 70th minute they crossed for their fourth as Richardson picked up a loose ball to send Adam Swift in from 30 metres out.
The damage done, Saints simply had to play out their sets and take home the points.
So it was left to Luke Thompson to cap a fine display with a try of his own – Lomax’ flat ball sending on his way on a 40 metre effort.
Justin Holbrook was pleased with Saints fightback as they came from behind to beat Hull FC on Friday night.
His side reversed an 18-10 deficit with four tries in 15 minutes to win 34-18 and take home the Steve Prescott Cup.
“We always knew it would be a tough game and we did really well to lead at half time,” he said. “We were in a tough spot in the second half but to the players’ credit they dug deep, turned it around and came away with a good win.
“We are obviously playing well with where we sit and we’re playing for the full 80. We stuck in there and got some opportunities. When we did we were good enough to take them and it was great to watch.
“It was a good win in the end.”
Jonny Lomax scored a brace in the victory and Holbrook said he was the difference.
He continued: “He has been fantastic for the last five or six weeks. He plays well whether he is at six or at one and he did that again tonight.
“We’re happy with where we sit, are playing well and we want to keep it that way. But we know there is a long way to go.”
Match Summary:
Hull FC:
Tries: Faraimo (2), Turgut, Kelly
Goals: Connor (0 from 1), Miloudi (1 from 3)
Saints:
Tries: Makinson, Barba (2), Lomax (2), Swift, Thompson
Goals: Richardson (3 from 7)
Penalties Awarded:
Hull FC: 5
Saints: 3
HT: 8-10
FT: 18-34
REF: Liam Moore
ATT: 11,130
Teams:
Hull FC:
28. Hakim Miloudi; 2. Bureta Faraimo, 14. Jake Connor, 3. Carlos Tuimavave, 24. Jack Logan; 6. Albert Kelly, 16. Jordan Abdul; 15. Chris Green, 9. Danny Houghton, 8. Scott Taylor, 25. Jansin Turgut, 12. Mark Minichiello, 11. Dean Hadley.
Subs: 23. Mickey Paea, 26. Jordan Lane, 27. Jack Downs, 29. Masimbaashe Matongo.
Saints:
23. Ben Barba; 5. Adam Swift, 2. Tommy Makinson, 4. Mark Percival, 19. Regan Grace; 1. Jonny Lomax, 18. Danny Richardson; 10. Kyle Amor, 9. James Roby, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Dom Peyroux, 11. Zeb Taia, 12. Jon Wilkin.
Subs: 6. Theo Fages, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Luke Douglas, 15. Morgan Knowles.
