| Wigan (4) 13 |
| Try: Marshall, King, Wardle Goal: Smith |
| Hull FC (6) 12 |
| Try: Swift, Dwyer Objectives: Sutcliffe 2 |
Wigan struggled late on to take Hull to golden point after a thrilling finish.
The hosts took the lead when Liam Marshall slipped past, but a resolute defending and Adam Swift’s finishing gave Hull a slender 6-4 lead at half-time.
Brad Dwyer made it 12-4, Toby King cut the lead, and after Hull grounded Carlos Tuimavah in a bin, Jake Wardle equalized with three minutes left.
Both teams missed attempts in a scoreless first overtime before it was won by Harry Smith’s 40-yard drop goal.
A fourth successive Premier League win – and sixth in seven – puts Wigan within two points of the Catalans’ standings, while Hull remain two points outside the play-off places in eighth.
Smith had a bad night with the boot, missing all three shots on goal and a golden point goal, only to settle the hardest one of the night when it mattered in the 88th minute.
Both sides struggled for fluency in the opulent DW Stadium, with a Liam Sutcliffe penalty giving the Black & Whites a narrow lead in a checkered first half-hour.
The first try finally arrived in the 31st minute, usually coming from an error as Smith’s surging kick bounced off the head of Davy Lytten to Kai Pearce-Poole, who slipped past two players and took off his one-handed hold to give Marshall a simple run. -in.
Wigan gained possession and possession in the first half area, but Hull defended hard and grabbed the lead in the first half when Jake Clifford’s superb high kick bounced through Swift’s hands to make contact with the ground.
More fine defending kept Wigan at bay after the break before Hull landed the classic lollipop punch.
It was the Warriors’ turn to make a high ball as they failed to handle Clifford’s high kick and Dwyer pounced.
Toby King burst a gap to bring the Warriors back within four points going into the final quarter.
However, Hull missed a golden opportunity to beat two goals down with eight minutes left when Litten knocked on the line.
The game took another turn with four minutes remaining, with Tuimavave carding for a heavy tackle on Wardle, who was slashed by a well-timed Jay Field pass.
Smith missed a chance to win it when his third shot on goal drifted wide and then missed a goal in the dying moments, but eventually found his combination to break Hull hearts.
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet told BBC Radio:
“It looked like two teams came back after a week of not playing and I think both teams would be happy to get that team out of their system.
“I’m just happy we got the two points, because at the end of the season that could be an important couple of points.
“We’ve had games like that — really ugly — and lost, so it’s good to show up on the right side, because it can become a bit of a lottery.
“Overall defensively and effortlessly, the way we carried the ball and our fitness, I thought we were very good.
“We’re just letting ourselves down in terms of managing and executing the game.”
Hull boss Tony Smith told BBC Radio:
“I don’t think we were good enough in some areas, which may have caused us not to win the title, but in some areas I thought we were great and maybe we didn’t deserve to lose it.
“It was a tough fight. It wasn’t the nicest game of rugby league I’ve ever seen, maybe it was ultimately on the other side of the scale.
“I didn’t think it was sinbin, it was one of those tackles where a guy falls on his back.
“We see them all the time, but they’re the reactions we get sometimes and our sport is very cautious at the moment with many of the issues it addresses.”
Wigan: Field, Muskie, King, Wardle, Marshall, French, Smith, Dupree, O’Neal, Byrne, Pierce Ball, Farrell, Smithies.
Intersections: Powell, charming, Hale, right.
Hull F.C.: Lytten, Swift, Sutcliffe, Toimaffe, McIntosh, Truman, Clifford, Taylor, Hutton, Brown, Scott, Savelio, Cator.
Intersections: Dwyer, Lin, Lovodoa, Satay.
will show: fast (76).
to rule: Aaron Moore.