Hull FC punish toothless Harlequins
Quins were outshone at the KC Stadium
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Friday, 21, Aug 2009 10:03
By Tom Powell.
Harlequins looked a shadow of the side that reached the dizzy heights of fourth place earlier in the season as they crashed to a 26-6 defeat to Hull FC.
This contest was effectively over after 14 minutes as Hull took advantage of a Quins side that were toothless in attack and lacklustre in defence.
Tommy Lee put the first score on the board for the hosts, latching on to Mark Calderwood's hack through to touch down.
Tom Briscoe added a second after Quins failed to deal with a regulation kick through before Craig Hall crossed the whitewash for number three under a quarter of an hour in.
Quins were not without their chances but three times had scores chalked off as they failed to touch down when in position, being held up, in touch and knocking on when within touching distance of four points.
Hall got his second and Hull's third on 28 minutes after more missed tackles from the visitors, Danny Tickle converting three of the four scores.
Into the second half and a half-time dressing down from Brian McDermott seemed to spur Quins on as they at least closed the flood gates.
Will Sharp got the visitors on the score board squeezing in at the corner with 63 minutes gone, Rob Purdham added the extras. Lamont Bryan could have added his name to the score-sheet but was forced into touch by a defiant Hull defence.
However, Quins could not prevent Craig Hall crossing to complete his hat-trick nor could they mount the epic comeback required to stop Hull picking up the two points as the match drifted to a disappointing conclusion.
This loss, the third on the spin, looks to have put Quins' play-off hopes to bed as McDermott's men limp towards the end of the season.
Elsewhere both Challenge Cup finalists warmed up for next weekend's Wembley showdown with losses. Warrington lost 28-40 at home to Wakefield whilst Huddersfield narrowly lost out to St. Helens in a repeat of the semi-final.
Hull KR edged out Salford 14-10 in a tight game at the Willows as they leapfrog the Giants into third place.