Hull fight back to win derby at Rovers

Adam Swift ran 70 metres to bring Hull into the game and later added a crucial second

Hull FC kept their Super League play-off hopes alive with a priceless derby victory over rivals Hull KR, their first at Craven Park since March 2018.

Jack Walker gave Rovers a first-half lead, as they dominated things.

Adam Swift's double either side of Ligi Sao's plunge-over turned the game in the second 40 as Hull pulled away.

Shaun Kenny-Dowall was sin-binned for 10 minutes just short of the hour and it proved a telling absence as Hull plundered points in that period.

This result leaves Hull four points off sixth-placed Salford in the last play-off spot, while Rovers are two points below the Red Devils in the table.

It was a bruising contest, with Rovers losing Kane Linnett to a failed head injury assessment and Mikey Lewis went off later on with a head knock, while the Airlie Birds saw Tex Hoy limp off with a recurrence of a hamstring issue.

For Black and Whites boss Tony Smith, this was a triumphant return to his old club, and the perfect response to April's early-season demolition.

His opposite number Willie Peters looked like it would be his day at half-time, as the dynamic Mikey Lewis danced through tackles and offloaded to Walker to score for an early advantage.

The hosts looked the sharper, the more dangerous of the two teams before the break with Lewis, Ethan Ryan and Walker popping up, but still gave away opportunities as they failed to execute.

By contrast Hull struggled for consistent possession and control, but turned that around after half-time.

The pack, through Sao, Chris Satae and Jack Brown started to make inroads, allowing Brad Dwyer, Jake Clifford and Jake Trueman to create on the back of that.

Yet it was Danny Houghton, in his 39th derby, who set the tone with brutally-stubborn defence and craft with the ball - particularly when Hoy went off and he moved into the halves.

Swift's crucial game-changer came from a superb Cam Scott round-the-corner offload followed by his pace, while his second saw him finish a slick move to the left.

Dwyer jumped out between those two scores to feed Sao, who bashed his way through to create a lead and send the away contingent at a sold-out stadium into ecstasy.

Despite the disappointment of the loss to their biggest rivals, Hull KR must now switch their attention to the Challenge Cup semi-finals and their own bid to make the play-offs.

Hull KR: Walker; Ryan, Opacic, Kenny-Dowall, R. Hall; Lewis, Milnes; Kennedy, Litten, King, Keinhorst, Linnett, Hadley

Interchanges: Parcell, Storton, Johnson, Luckley [Aydin]

Hull FC: Hoy; Swift, Scott, Tuimavave, McIntosh; Trueman, Clifford; Taylor, Houghton, Sao, Lane, Fash, Cator

Interchanges: Brown, Gardiner, Dwyer, Satae [Shaul]

Referee: Ben Thaler.

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