Marc Sneyd hit a 50-metre penalty to bag the points for Hull in a low-quality 8-6 Betfred Super 8s win at St Helens.
The rain hammered down from the first minute to the last and it was the solo effort and game management of Sneyd that won it for the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup finalists.
With the game on a knife-edge and the clock ticking down, Hull took their opportunity to land a penalty from the half-way line, Saints turning down an easier opportunity minutes earlier which proved to be the difference between the sides.
Hull hold on for the win to make it four in a row! âš«ï¸âšªï¸ pic.twitter.com/L0TDxxOYUE
— Hull FC (@hullfcofficial) August 11, 2017
The rain-soaked turf was the only obstacle Sneyd had to contend with and his effort was bang on target to give Lee Radford’s men the opportunity to close the game out.
It was Justin Holbrook’s side who registered the first points of the evening, as Regan Grace touched down in style out wide after Mark Percival had created the opening.
With lashing rain impacting the quality of the clash, classy half-back Sneyd's footwork deceived the Saints defenders five minutes before half-time and he stepped his way to the line before levelling it up with a routine conversion.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Proud to achieve this for a special club. Thanks all messages. Great win and performance <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mondeo?src=hash">#Mondeo</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WIN?src=hash">#WIN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hullfcofficial">@hullfcofficial</a> <a href="https://t.co/wX4Ht2yoAP">pic.twitter.com/wX4Ht2yoAP</a></p>— Jordan thompson (@Jordythomp) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jordythomp/status/896129829602447361">August 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Holbrook criticised his side's performance.
“It wasn’t a good display, was it?" said Holbrook. "They dropped as much ball as us.
"Unfortunately it was one of the worst games of rugby league I have been involved in. I felt sorry for you guys and the fans for watching it.
There wasn’t much in it and a 50-metre penalty goal was the difference."
Hull coach Lee Radford offered his apologies for the drab standard of rugby over 80 minutes.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Final score sees Saints downed 8-6 by Hull. Thank you to both sets of fans for coming out tonight <a href="https://t.co/aJK2cFEI7X">pic.twitter.com/aJK2cFEI7X</a></p>— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saints1890/status/896111243546705920">August 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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“I want to apologise for the standard but I don’t want you (the media) to undersell that result, though, as it was huge for us," he said. "Don’t underwrite this one.
"We had some adversity and we had to throw Albert Kelly in as he wasn’t down to play last night.
"We lost Fetuli Talanoa (sickness) and Mahe Fonua’s partner went in to have a baby. We had to rearrange a few things.
“All that being said, it was the ugliest, prettiest result we have had in a long time."
