Challenge Cup: Hull FC 18-32 St Helens: Saints triumph after Josh Griffin red card

Josh Griffin's red card cost Hull FC as they were defeated 32-18 by St Helens in their Challenge Cup quarter-final.

The two sides were level at the break in a bruising encounter at the MKM Stadium.

But second-rower Griffin was shown yellow and red in quick succession for persistent dissent after the half-time whistle.

That signalled a four-try onslaught from Saints despite a brave effort from 12-man Hull.

Victory came at a cost for Saints as Tommy Makinson limped off with an apparent hamstring injury and Mark Percival's game was ended by a head injury assessment.

Saints started with their customary high intensity as Jack Welsby sent Joe Batchelor over for the opening try, with Makinson adding the extras and then kicking a penalty.

The latter was awarded after Brad Fash dropped his shoulder on Percival in a tackle, forcing the Saints man off with Fash placed on report.

With Hull prop Scott Taylor despatched to hospital with a shoulder injury, the Black and Whites fought back strongly as Tex Hoy sent Griffin over and Andre Savelio picked up Darnell McIntosh's knock-down off Hoy's high kick to score. Two Liam Sutcliffe conversions edged Hull ahead.

The departure of Makinson affected Saints but Welsby's looping pass sent Konrad Hurrell over for his 99th career try.

The teams trooped off with the score 12-12 at half-time, but Griffin complained to referee Chris Kendall and was shown the yellow card. He continued to complain and was shown a red to leave Hull facing an uphill battle.

Saints pressed home their advantage as Lewis Dodd sent Curtis Sironen crashing over and then added another himself after Tee Ritson's dashing break had been brilliantly halted by a Hoy tackle.

Hull refused to surrender and when Ritson and Welsby collided under a high ball, they gave themselves a chance as Jake Trueman went over.

Saints' response was clinical as Welsby went over for the killer try and James Bell finished it off with another late on.

Hull head coach Tony Smith told BBC Radio Humberside:

"I didn't think it was the smartest of performances by us, by a long shot. The effort was right up there in terms of the spirit showed and application to compete and take it to Saints for big parts of the game.

"I knew it would be a big task but don't think we made it easy for ourselves in terms of discipline. That's not just on the send-off - six-agains at crucial times, and not choosing the right passes at times where we could have taken advantages of areas where they looked a little bit vulnerable."

[On Griffin's red card] "I'm not sure what he said but I'd suggest it was with some sort of language or profanity.

"Our focus was purely on what to do next. Nothing was going to change Josh being sent off, or what he said, so I haven't investigated that.

"We have to protect our sport - I don't want it to be a sport where you can criticise referees on the field, or question them. It has to be done respectfully. We have protocols we have to follow and should be really stringent on those."

St Helens' player of the match Jack Welsby, told BBC One:

"We picked up a couple of key injuries early on but this team's got resilience and we showed that today.

"They threw the ball about well and they're a tough team and thankfully we came out on the right side of it today.

"We didn't talk about the sending-off as we knew sometimes that galvanises a team so we concentrated on ourselves.

"We're on the right track, there are some things to improve and hopefully we can achieve that when we play the semi-final."

Hull FC: Litten, Swift, Sutcliffe, Tuimavave, McIntosh, Trueman, Hoy, Fash, Houghton, Taylor, Griffin, Savelio, Cator.

Interchanges: Sao, Satae, Lane, Dwyer, (Scott).

Sent off: Griffin (40).

St Helens: Welsby, Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Ritson, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles

Interchanges: Mata'utia, Lussick, Paasi, Bell, (Bennison).

Referee: Chris Kendall.