Martin keeps Hull FC in play-off hunt with win over Leigh

Betfred Super League

Hull FC (12) 18

Tries: Cust, Barron, Martin Goals: Hardaker 3

Leigh (0) 12

Lewis Martin kept Hull FC’s play-off hopes alive with a match-winning intercept as the hosts edged a tough physical battle 18-12 against Leigh Leopards at the MKM Stadium.

Bloodied, bruised and bandaged after a clash of heads minutes earlier in the game, Super League’s leading try-scorer returned to the pitch to make the game’s pivotal intervention with a 21st of his campaign.

His kicked intercept, pick up and 50 metre sprint under the posts on the hour mark proved enough to win a hard-fought game and kept them sixth, with a three-point cushion between themselves and Wakefield Trinity.

The 21-year-old winger’s eighth score in the past three games proved to be the match-winner after tries from Cade Cust and Harvey Barron in the first half were cancelled out by replies for Leigh from Adrian Lam and Gaz O’Brien, which left the game level going into the last 20 minutes.

Leigh’s defeat put a dent in their hopes of chasing down a top two spot.

Cust did most to establish a 12-0 half-time lead with an opening try and a clever assist for Barron’s score, Zak Hardaker’s boot adding the extras on both occasions.

But the Leopards were back in the game on 51 minutes when Lam was deemed to have got the ball down after wriggling through a sea of blue shirts.

The on-field call of try from Chris Kendall went upstairs to the TMO and while there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the decision, it looked like fortune had favoured the Leopards.

And it proved the spark they needed with Sam Eseh gifting a penalty in the ruck and O’Brien making best use of the field position to go over for a second.

At 12-12 and with their influential loose forward John Asiata limping off with hamstring trouble to join full-back Will Pryce on the sidelines, it looked as though Leigh’s attritional style might win the day until Martin’s quick feet restored Hull’s lead.

Hull FC: Pryce, Barron, Briscoe, Litten, Martin, Hardaker, Cust, Ese’ese, Bourouh, Watts, Cartwright, Lane, Asiata

Interchanges: Aydin, Ashworth, Kemp, Eseh

Leigh: Hodgson, Brand, Niu, Hanley, Charley, O’Brien, Lam, Ofahengaue, Ipape, Mulhern, Halton, Trout, Liu

Interchanges: Hughes, O’Neill, Davis, McNamara