DISGUSTED, disappointed, done. Those were the words used by Andy Last to describe Hull FC’s 20-16 defeat at York Knights on Thursday.
Tries from David Nofoaluma, Jon Bennison, Denive Balmforth and Nikau Williams, alongside two Bennison goals, were enough to see a resurgent York over the line for a third consecutive Super League win.
Hull, who had trailed 8-0, scored 16 unanswered points in a blistering 14 minutes before half-time, but could not find the whitewash again in the second half as the Knights fought back to claim their first home win over Hull in 50 years.
Last, whose side have now lost their last four games, admitted it was the kind of performance that keeps him up at night.
“There’s a lot to ponder, a lot to think about,” he said. “I’m disgusted really with 60 minutes of that performance.
“The first 20 minutes, we didn’t get out of the blocks, which is an indicator of attitude, then we got to grips with the contest and the second 20 minutes were a lot better.
“We went in at half-time and spoke about the importance of the next 20 and setting the tone for that second half. We didn’t get that right.
“We were ill-disciplined, and that’s killing us. Seven penalties coming out of yardage against us, so you don’t give yourself any opportunity to build any sort of pressure in terms of position.
“It was so easy for York to go up the field; they just waited for us to give away a cheap penalty, kick it 40 or 50 metres, then it’s on our own tryline again, as was the case last week, despite the review talking about discipline.
“I’m bitterly disappointed and frustrated.”
Hull had more than enough chances to end their losing run, with Cade Cust fluffing his lines from an inside pass that would have sent him clear, and Paul McShane’s stunning tackle forcing Herman Ese’ese into a knock-on over the line in the dying minutes.
“It’s the same players making the same errors,” Last bemoaned. “That’s the frustration.
“We’re putting people in some positions and they’re not quite nailing the right pass, and our last play options were poor.
“We have an opportunity with three minutes to go, and just didn’t come up with enough quality when we had a little bit of field position. The last-tackle plays were just not where we needed them to be.”