Yeaman's double fells Giants in a thrilling finale

Hull 28 Huddersfield 24

Two late tries from the discarded England centre Kirk Yeaman snatched the spoils for Hull at the end of a pulsating contest yesterday.

A game that could have gone either way was decided by two flashes of opportunism from a player who is surely capable of reclaiming his Test place.

These were two play-off contenders whose recent form had been patchy at best and Huddersfield could hardly have begun the game more ineptly.

Danny Brough's first kick of the match went straight into touch and a penalty conceded by Luke George for ball-stealing gave Hull an inviting position.

They exploited it when Richard Horne, playing at full-back, came into the line and put Ben Crooks over in the corner.

Despite some promising touches by the in-form Eorl Crabtree, it took the Giants until midway through the first half to respond. George and Greg Eden led a counter-attack from deep and, when the ball was spread to the right, Leroy Cudjoe had room to touch down.

Hull regained the lead when Scott Moore was penalised for a high tackle and the ball went along the line for Tom Briscoe to score in the corner.

In the final seconds of a fluctuating first half, Danny Brough, in line for his England debut this week, stood in the tackle near the Hull try-line and David Faiumu arrived in support to score.

Huddersfield extended their lead with a long-range try that turned defence into attack. Brett Seymour put in a dangerous kick, Kevin Brown scooped it up and ran it back and, even though George was caught, the Giants scored on the other wing through Aaron Murphy.

Aaron Heremaia brought Hull back into it on his home debut, selling a big dummy to cut the margin. It was then a case of the biggest Giant of all, Crabtree, looking to have lost the game and then won it. When his off-load went to ground, Yeaman kicked ahead and won the race, although Brough argued in vain that he had prevented him touching down.

Crabtree made instant amends by scoring from Faiumu's pass, but Hull regained possession when Danny Tickle's kick-off bounced into touch.

With the Huddersfield defence massing desperately near their sticks, there was room on the far edge for Yeaman to grab the winner.

It made a refreshing change for the Hull coach, Peter Gentle. "It wasn't textbook at times, but we found a way to win," he said. "We've been rolled over so often in the last 10 minutes this season."

Huddersfield's Nathan Brown was not too down-hearted. "I'm disappointed with the result, but that's the best we've played for about six weeks," he said.

Hull Horne; Crooks, Turner, Yeaman, Briscoe; Whiting, Seymour; Moa, Heremaia, Lynch, Manu, Tickle, Westerman. Substitutes used Pitts, Aspinwall, Nicklas, Watts. Huddersfield Eden; Murphy, Cudjoe, Gilmour, George; Brough, Grix; Crabtree, Moore, Mason, Patrick, Lawrence, Brown. Substitutes used Chan, O'Donnell, Lee, Faiumu.

Referee J Child (Dewsbury).