Saints lose Super League opener in the fog (From St Helens Star)

Saints lose Super League opener in the fog

7:49pm Saturday 6th February 2010

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Saints 12 Hull 32.

The game was delayed by 15 minutes in the vain hope that the fog that had descended on the borough in the late afternoon would clear.

With hindsight Saints would have probably wished it had been called off.

It was an awful first half for Saints with both Ade Gardner and debutant Sia Soliola leaving the field with injuries.

The game marked former scrum half Sean Long’s return to Knowsley Road following his departure in November.

Long gave a masterful performance and got better as the game progressed and his new followers in black and white lapped it up.

Inevitably he had a big hand in the opening score, with his short ball sending Hull back rower Willie Manu storming over.

Danny Tickle slotted the extras to give Hull a 6-0 lead to the appreciation of large travelling contingent of fans.

Saints enjoyed a bit of pressure, but could not turn that into points and were disrupted by the loss of Gardner in the 14th minute with damaged ribs, which resulted in James Roby playing wing.

They were further hampered just before the break when Soliola limped off with an ankle injury.

Hull cashed in and big man Epalahame Lauaki smashed through Leon Pryce’s tackle then three more on a powerful twisting run to the try line. Tickle’s goal made it 12-0 at half time.

Second half was no better with the visitors stretching into a three score lead with a Tickle penalty.

Then came the try off the match with a midfield break from Tickle, carried on by Jordan Tansey and Richard Horne sending Long storming over the line, polishing off with an elaborate dive. Tickle’s goal pushed it to 20-0 and Saints did not look like they were going to get back into the game.

Even when they had the ball they looked disjointed in attack and lacked a cutting edge. The closest they came to scoring was when James Graham got to the line but was turned on his back.

Hull responded with another long range try with Tom Briscoe racing 60 metres, with the cover getting nowhere near him. Craig Fitzgibbon, kicking for the injured Tickle, made sure it was a six pointer to make it 26-0.

Hull were temporarily reduced to 12-men when Tansey was sin-binned for holding down Saints grabbed a consolation score when Matt Gidley’s brave dive to the line, copping a knee to the head, resulted in a try given by the video ref. Gidley’s head was strapped up and Eastmond slotted the difficult conversion with aplomb.

Saints’ other Aussie Chris Flannery then crossed on the left, after the ball was given some air, and Eastmond’s goal cut the deficit to 14 points.

Hull had the last word when, after a couple of penalties, they pressed and Long’s kick was deflected into the path of Kirk Yeaman. Fitzgibbon again goaled to complete a rout at 32-12.

Saints: Wellens Gardner Gidley Soliola Wheeler Pryce Eastmond Graham Cunningham Fozzard Puletua Flannery Wilkin. Subs: Roby Moore Clough Fa’asavalu.

Hull Fc: Tansey Hall Whiting Yeaman Briscoe Horne Long O’Meley Berrigan Radford Manu Tickle Fitzgibbon Subs: Dowes Lauaki Cusack Houghton

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