Hull FC 46 Warrington Wolves 14

4:49pm Wednesday 15th August 2007

JUST when everything was going well!

Wolves' four-match winning run was buried by a hungry Hull side on Sunday, with a glut of injuries and the sending off of Paul Wood contributing to the hefty loss.

Although not in their previous week's top form, there were no signs of Wolves' worst away defeat of the season in the first half of a game that referee Ashley Klein did his best to ruin with his whistle.

Some of the first-half defence under pressure was superb but Paul Cullen's men were conceding too much possession and costly penalties.

But so were Hull, who only led 18-14 at the break after Wolves had shaken off the setback of losing stand off Chris Bridge in the sixth minute with a knee injury, while fellow half back Lee Briers limped through 79 minutes after pulling his groin while completing a successful opening-minute 40/20 kick.

Wolves suffered another blow with the withdrawal of winger Stuart Reardon with a shoulder injury at half time but that was far from the players' minds at the start of the second half when one of the most bizarre 60 seconds of rugby league proved to be the turning point.

With Bridge's replacement Simon Grix now on the right wing and Jon Clarke at stand off, Wolves kicked the ball deep from the restart and Hull prop Garreth Carvell knocked on.

Wolves substitute Andy Bracek picked up the loose ball and forced his way over the try line.

Klein ruled Bracek had lost possession and Hull caught Wolves off guard with a quickly taken restart that almost brought them a try at the other end but for some great scrambling defence.

Hull lost possession and Bracek scooped up the loose ball only to drop it again when the defenders closed in, allowing Hull scrum half Matthew Head to throw out a long pass for Gareth Raynor to score.

That gave Hull a crucial eight-point lead and the confidence to go for the kill.

When Adrian Morley was penalised for a high tackle on Scott Wheeldon in the next set, Hull made the most of their chance and some increasingly poor defence with Carvell touching down and Motu Tony crossing two minutes later.

Tony's second try came immediately after Wood's dismissal for a high tackle on Wheeldon, as well as Morley limping off with a thigh injury.

With Mark Gleeson leaving the field with a bad cut, Wolves had no substitutes left and finished the game with Ben Harrison at hooker and the only fit' 12 men available.

Match facts.

engage Super League round 23, August 12, 2007.

Hull FC 46 Warrington Wolves 14.

Hull: Motu Tony (2t); Shaun Briscoe (1t), Richard Whiting, Craig Hall, Gareth Raynor (2t); Richard Horne (1t), Matt Head; Ewan Dowes, Thomas Lee, Paul King, Lee Radford, Willie Manu (1t), Danny Tickle (7g). Subs used: Scott Wheeldon, Danny Washbrook, Graeme Horne, Garreth Carvell (1t).

Wolves: Brent Grose; Stuart Reardon, Martin Gleeson (1t), Henry Fa'afili (2t), Kevin Penny; Chris Bridge, Lee Briers (1g); Paul Wood, Mark Gleeson, Paul Rauhihi, Ben Westwood, Adrian Morley, Jon Clarke. Subs used: Steve Pickersgill, Simon Grix, Andy Bracek, Ben Harrison.

Referee: Ashley Klein.

Scoring: Raynor's failure to play the ball correctly allows Briers and Clarke to combine and fire Martin Gleeson home, 13mins, 0-4; Manu steps out of Martin Gleeson's grasp and ploughs through Grose to touch down, 22mins, Tickle goals, 6-4; Graeme Horne fires out a ball beyond Penny for Raynor to dash over, 28mins, Tickle converts, 12-4; Raynor knocks on from Grix's bomb allowing Fa'afili to pounce, 32mins, 12-8; Harrison's offload leads to Fa'afili haring between Hall and Raynor, 37mins, Briers adds the extras, 12-14; Bracek knocks on giving Tony the chance to kick ahead for Briscoe to beat Reardon to the vital touch, 40+mins, Tickle converts, 18-14; Bracek loses the ball while scoring and Hull score at the other end courtesy of Raynor after a comedy of errors, 41mins, 22-14; Morley's high tackle on Wheeldon leads to Carvell touching down in a three-man tackle, 46mins, Tickle collects the extras, 28-14; Tony darts over from Richard Horne's inside pass, 49mins, Tickle slots the kick, 34-14; Tony scoots over from another Richard Horne inside pass after Wood is sent off, 63mins, Tickle converts, 40-14; Washbrook breaks Bracek's tackle and sends Richard Horne home, 66mins, Tickle boots the goal, 46-14.

Sent off: Wolves: Paul Wood 63mins (high tackle).

Pens: Hull FC 14 Wolves 10.

Scrums: Hull FC 3 Wolves 5.

Attendance: 13,404.

Warrington Guardian top men: Harrison 3pts, Westwood 2pts, Fa'afili 1pt.

Interesting note: Most points Hull have scored all season and their widest margin of victory.