Super League: St Helens edge past Castleford after scoreless first half

Theo Fages scored the only try of the game late on for St Helens

St Helens edged a low-scoring game against Castleford to keep up pressure at the top of Super League and continue their winning run post-restart.

The two sides cancelled each other out in a real arm-wrestle of a first half, and Lachlan Coote's penalty goal for Saints did not come until 50 minutes.

Coote added another to double the lead as both sides toiled for points.

Theo Fages went over the line for Saints with three minutes to play to finally see off the brave Tigers fight.

It ensured the talismanic James Roby ended his 500th career appearance as a winner, but it might not be the most memorable afternoon for Saints winger Tommy Makinson, as he could yet find himself in trouble after replays appeared to show a low grab on Liam Watts, which was put on report.

Kristian Woolf's Saints side had been devastating in wins over Catalans and Leeds since the restart, but in slightly cooler conditions they were held at bay for large parts by a dogged Tigers.

The win pushes them into second above Catalans and Warrington, and two points behind leaders Wigan who beat Leeds Rhinos later on Sunday.

Their forwards James Graham and Alex Walmsley, so dominant, were matched by counterparts Liam Watts and George Griffin in a savage tussle.

They finally showed the quality which made them champions in 2019 late on after Roby's scything break teed up Fages, who held off the cover to score.

By contrast to Saints, Castleford were prised apart at will by Catalans last weekend but showed real intent to stem Saints flow whenever they found the champions encamped on their line.

They did, like the hosts, failed to click in attack as perhaps expected beforehand, but there was much for Daryl Powell and his staff to be proud of in terms of defensive integrity.

Michael Shenton twice chased kicks to the dead ball line, and both occasions got there just too late as the Tigers slipped to a fourth defeat of the campaign and drop to seventh.

St Helens: Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Lomax, Fages, Walmsley, Roby, Taia, Knowles, Bentley, Graham.

Substitutes: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Lees, Amor, Smith.

Castleford (from): Olpherts, Shenton, Richardson, Watts, McShane, Holmes, McMeeken, Milner, Massey, Griffin, Foster, Clare, O'Brien.

Substitutes: Millington, Sene-Lefao, O'Neill, Turner.

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