By IAN JUDSON
HULL FC slipped to a narrow defeat against Wakefield Trinity at the DIY Kitchens Stadium in questionable fashion.
John Cartwright’s side were physically dominant for large parts of the first half, but were unable to turn that advantage into points.
The secod half saw Daryl Powell’s side put Hull under intense pressure and grab a controversial try to claim the spoils.
Team News:
John Cartwright named James Bell on the bench for his debut for the Black & Whites at the DIY Kitchens Stadium.
Aidan Sezer had recovered enough from blurred vision after a poke in the eye to captain the side again.
Yusuf Aydin took his place in the front row after previously deputising for John Asiata, with the vice-captain returning to the loose-forward position.
The Match:
Hull made the first mistake of the match with a knock-on but used their captain’s challenge successfully to gain a penalty for a ball steal.
The early stages were a real arm-wrestle as the teams tested each other’s defensive resolve, particularly with their kicking games.
It was Hull who struck first as Lewis Martin burst into the Trinity half to setup the position and then finished off a flowing cross-field move in the corner, Zak Hardaker added the conversion.
Trinity then caused Hull to drop out from under their own posts as Martin was just caught clearing up a threatening kick.
A penalty and a set-restart added to the pressure and eventually Will Tate crossed in the corner to get the home side on the board.
There was some definite spirit in the early exchanges as tempers threatened to boil over at various times in the first quarter.
Hull were put into the Trinity half from a penalty, followed by a set-restart and Martin crossed in the corner for his second try and restore Hull’s six point advantage.
The home side were handed back-to-back penalties which put them in the Hull half but a lost ball was grabbed by Hardaker to avert the danger.
A concern once again for the Airlie Birds was the amount of penalties they were giving away once again but resilient defending kept getting them out of trouble as the half drew towards its close.
However, whenever Hull invited the home side into their danger zone, they also repeatedly handed the ball back and backed it up with a silly penalty.
Trinity however grabbed a try on the stroke of half time as Hull failed to deal with an awkward kick and Oliver Pratt took full advantage, Jack Sinfield levelled the scores with the conversion.
Wakefield were handed territory and possession from a knock-on in the Hull danger zone, but excellent defending forced Tate into touch.
A sliced kick out on the full by Jake Arthur put the home side in strong field position again and they thought they had taken the lead, but the try was chalked off by the video referee.
Hull were then handed field position in the Trinity half by a penalty for a high tackle on Amir Bourouh which saw him withdrawn from the action.
Wakefield eventually took the lead after intense pressure as Tate grabbed his second try of the game as the game approached the hour mark.
Hull started to try and take control back with some aggressive defending and the return of John Asiata to the pitch certainly brought more control in the middle for the Airlie Birds.
A foolish attempt at an offload by Litten produced a knock-on and gave the home side yet another attacking position but Hull continued to hang on by their fingertips.
Wakefield just continued to manage the game with their slender lead as the clock ticked down and claim their second win of the Betfred Super League season.