Hull KR turned defeat into victory with the last play of the game as the Robins claimed a famous win over arch rivals Hull FC.
MATCH DETAILS
A late try from Rovers debutant Jimmy Keinhorst sealed an emphatic win over local rivals Hull FC at KCOM Craven Park.
Sika Manu bagged the first try of the game after 15 minutes of end-to-end play. Skipper Danny Houghton made the pass out of dummy-half which caught Rovers off-guard and, just minutes later, Matty Dawson-Jones doubled his side’s lead after a clever grubber kick.
The hosts levelled the scores in the final ten minutes of the first-half after tries from skipper Joel Tomkins and debutant Mitch Garbutt, both of whom were set up by the evergreen Danny McGuire.
For the third quarter of the game, the scores remained level and the game looked to have fizzled out until Bureta Fairmo put the Black and Whites into the lead with 13 minutes left.
Josh Griffin went close to sealing the win but Ben Crooks made a fantastic tackle to finish off a defensive set that still kept them in the game in the dying minutes.
With only a couple of minutes left on the board, Rovers covered the width of the pitch in the space of six tackles.
Debutant Josh Drinkwater launched one final bomb, Crooks managed to palm it back into the hands of Danny Addy, who linked up with McGuire and Keinhorst sent KCOM Craven Park into raptures with a fantastic finish in the corner.
FOUR POINTERS
Hull KR were chasing the game
After Manu put the Black and Whites ahead after 15 minutes, they made it difficult for the hosts as they managed to climb back to 12 points each at half time.
However, Rovers were able to show the heart and determination to not only defend on their try line but snatch the two points with one last set-of-six that took them from side of the pitch to the other.
New signings look promising for KR
Mitch Garbutt was outstanding for Rovers, making metres on every carry and giving the Hull FC defence lots of trouble. Josh Drinkwater and Jimmy Keinhorst more than carried their own weight and look like they will settle into the Hull KR side in no time.
Hull FC had the game in their hands
After consecutively losing games for months now the Black and Whites had the chance to not only gain some momentum but silence some critics. After losing the finall 11 games of the 2018 season, Hull needed to right some wrongs. With the return of some key players in the coming weeks, they should be able to make their way up the table.
Did Hull stregnthen their squad enough?
Many questions were asked and statements made at the end of 2018 about the changes to be made in the Hull FC dressing room. Few changes were made with just a couple going out and coming in. Did they miss their chance to bring in an experienced forward?
MAN OF THE MATCH
Mitch Garbutt (Hull KR)
Although starting from the bench, Garbutt made his first contribution in a Red and White shirt by levelling the scores just before half-time.
His work-rate in defence also helped kept Hull FC from extending their lead and when it came to that defensive set with minutes to go. It was his contribution that helped seal the win.
THE RESULT
HULL KR 18
Tries:ย Tomkins, Garbutt, Keinhorst
Goals:ย Drinkwater (3)
Drop Goals:ย n/a
HULL FC 16
Tries:ย Manu, Dawson, Faraimo
Goals:ย Sneyd (2)
Drop Goals:ย n/a
SQUADS
Hull KR:ย Atkin, Crooks, Keinhorst, Vaivai, Hall, McGuire, Drinkwater, Masoe, Lawler, Mulhern, Tomkins, Linnett, Hauraki.
Interchanges:ย Addy, Garbutt, Greenwood, Lee.
Hull FC:ย Shaul, Faraimo, Tuimavave, Griffin, Dawson-Jones, Washbrook, Sneyd, Taylor, Houghton, Matongo, Manu, Minichiello, Hadley.
Interchanges:ย Litten, Thompson, Paea, Lane.
