Super League: Hull FC 18-16 Warrington - Manu Ma'u try snatches win

Two Warrington tacklers thought they had prevented Manu Ma'u's match-winning try

Warrington lost for the sixth time in seven games as their hopes of victory were snatched away by Manu Mau's controversial late try at Hull.

It was 12-12 at half-time as tries for Jamie Shaul and Brad Fash were answered by Wire's Matty Ashton and Daryl Clark.

Ashton's second try late on looked to have won it for the visitors.

But Ma'u got over with the final play and although the grounding was unclear, referee Chris Kendall gave it, allowing Luke Gale to kick the winning goal.

The decision was an on-field try for the Tonga international - and the video referee could find no camera angle to overturn Kendall's original verdict.

That earned former Warrington favourite Brett Hodgson, the Hull boss, his fifth win this season in nine Super League games.

Hull climbed to fifth in Super League with their fifth win in nine games this season

After their Friday derby defeat by Hull KR, it meant a positive response from the Black and Whites against a Wire side who thought they had brought their poor early season run to an end with Thursday's win over Salford.

Hull went ahead for the first time after Warrington were reduced to 12 men when Ben Currie was sin-binned for pulling back Jordan Lane in a try-scoring position.

Shaul finished off a flowing move from right to left but the Wolves hit back to level when hooker Clark caught the home defence napping off a penalty tap to score next to the posts.

Fash took a lovely short pass from Gale to put the hosts back in front but Darnell McIntosh spilt a towering kick into the path of Ashton, who held off the cover defence to score in the corner.

The game was then scoreless for the first half-hour of the second period until a breathless finale.

Barely a minute after Gale had pulled a drop-goal attempt wide, Wire went down the other end to take the lead for the first time when Josh Thewlis set up Ashton to score in the corner and put his side 16-12 up.

However the conversion was missed - and instead it was Ma'u and Gale who had the last word.

Hull coach Brett Hodgson:

"There was a lot of grit and determination from us. I would have been worried over the last few games if we hadn't had effort, but we've had effort in spades.

"It was tough today to back up after such an emotional game last week but to bounce back like we did was really pleasing. And we have to bring that every week.

"We're not a side that can turn up, score points and win early. We have to build and put the opposition under mental and physical fatigue. That's possibly why we scored in the last five minutes.

"Every game you'll have opportunities you don't quite take but there was something about the players being willing to do it for the full 80 minutes."

Warrington coach Daryl Powell:

"It was a tough call at the end. We're guessing there whether tries have been scored and I don't think it's a good way for professional sport to make decisions, but it is what it is.

"We worked hard all the way through, but we need to find how we want to play and that's hard under fatigue.

"It was a real battle of attrition and neither team could find the clarity in attack to break the other down. We had some real good pieces of play, but ultimately we've lost a tight game."

Hull: Connor; Shaul, Tuimavave, Wynne, McIntosh; Lovodua, Gale; Sao, Johnstone, Bowden, Ma'u, Lane, Fash.

Interchanges: Brown, Evans, Satae, Vulikijapani.

Warrington: Thewlis; Charnley, Mata'utia, King, Ashton; Widdop, Ratchford; Mulhern, D Clark, Cooper, Currie, Hughes, J Clark.

Interchanges: Philbin, Bullock, Walker, Longstaff.

Sin-bin: Currie (12).

Referee: Chris Kendall.

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