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Hornets 5 - 42 Hull FC

Mike Floyd at Spotland
22/ 4/2008

RUGBY League officials are an easy target for fans and coaches alike, but sometimes they don’t help themselves.

This was the case at Spotland on Sunday for Wigan referee Michael Dawber who sent off Hornets coach Bobbie Goulding in the closing minutes of a feisty Carnegie Challenge Cup fourth round tie against Hull.

Goulding reacted angrily when the man in the middle penalised, but took no further action against Hull’s Danny Tickle who appeared to have kicked out at grounded Dave Newton. The Hornets boss was then summoned on to the field of play by Mr Dawber and shown the red card. It was astonishing, and a straw poll of several experienced journalists in the press box failed to find anyone who had witnessed a similar incident.

What price common sense? Surely it would have defused the situation if the referee had gone to the touchline, had a quiet word with Goulding, told him to shut up and got on with the match.

Instead, the dismissal added to the home support’s view that they had had a raw deal. Hornets were on the wrong end of a 16-9 penalty count – 10-4 in a decisive first half – with most of the 50-50 decisions appearing to go the way of the visitors.

That said, Hornets part-timers gave their Super League opponents ‘one Hull of a game’ and all the players were able to leave the arena with their heads held high. Forwards Dave Best, Dave Newton, Paul Alcock and Craig Farrimond ran themselves into the ground, and inspirational skipper Jimmy Elston, as he always does, led from the front.

If Hornets can maintain this level of performance throughout the season it augurs well for the future.

It all started so well for the home team as, in the seventh minute, scrum-half Chris Forster intercepted Shaun Berrigan’s pass and raced 60 metres to score. Hornets continued to press as the Super League team struggled to find any fluency and looked anything but super.

The visitors were helped on their way with a 17th minute penalty which put them deep into home team territory. Shaun Berrigan did the rest with a neat pass to send Scott Wheeldon crashing in from close range. Tickle converted.

Hornets responded, and after a period of sustained pressure Elston knocked over a drop goal to reduce the arrears to one point.

Penalties against Hornets then came thick and fast, and as you would expect, Hull took full advantage. Adam Dykes’ mazy run created space for Traynor to score out wide, and Lee Radford’s slick offload sent Danny Houghton powering in near the posts. Tickle converted both.

Hull were awarded two more penalties in quick succession, just before the break, and from the second a quick tap saw Jamie Thackray bulldoze his way over for a try. Tickle tagged on the two to give the visitors a 24-5 interval lead.

The second half opened, not surprisingly, with two penalties for the visitors, the second of which saw Best sin-binned for dissent. And, once again, Hull cashed in when a flowing move saw Craig Hall touch down near the corner flag.

In the 48th minute Hall intercepted on his own 22 metre line and sprinted downfield. Hornets’ never-say-die approach was epitomised by Eric Andrews who chased back 70 metres to catch him. Raynor, though, was on hand to take Hall’s pass and score his second.

The match entered a scrappy phase as Hornets, despite their best efforts, couldn’t quite find a killer pass, while Hull struggled to deal with Goulding’s combative troops.

The Hull fans had to wait until the 68th minute for Dykes to slide through a tiring Hornets’ defence to score. Tickle added the extras.

The fastidious nature of Mr Dawber’s approach was again on show when Andrews hacked the ball into the in-goal area and gave chase. The ball went dead but, en route the Hornets fullback collided with Todd Byrne. A 22-metre tap to Hull would have been apt, but instead another penalty was awarded to the visitors. This drove the home team back towards their own line and the visitors benefited from what appeared to be a blatant forward pass in the build up to Kirk Yeaman’s 76th-minute try.

Hornets were still trying in the dying seconds of the match and Martin Ainscough was forced into touch inches from the Hull line. It summed up the tremendous attitude and effort of ‘Bobbie’s Boys’ who gave their all for the Hornets’ cause.

Hornets: Andrews, Brown, Brocklehurst, Spurr, Campbell, Ainscough, Forster, Best, Elston, Newton, Alcock, Farrimond, Corcoran. Subs (all used): Butterworth, Robinson, Cunliffe, Marsh. Tries: Forster. Drop goal: Elston.

Hull: Byrne, Briscoe, Yeaman, Hall, Raynor, Washbrook, Dykes, Cusack. Berrigan, Wheeldon, Manu, Tickle, Radford. Subs (all used): Houghton, Lee, Thackray, Burnett. Tries: Raynor 2, Wheeldon, Hall, Houghton, Thackray, Yeaman, Dykes. Goals: Tickle 5.

Referee: M Dawber (Wigan)
Penalties: 9-16
Half time: 5-24
Attendance: 1,418.