Our club statistician Norman Angell shares his experience of following the team’s trip to Fylde via social media.
My favourite moment of the season came on November 23rd when we defeated Fylde on their own ground. It ended a dismal run of eight matches of which seven were lost and one drawn. It must be said that four of those fixtures saw the side pick up losing bonus points and the heaviest defeat was 36-18 at home to Hinckley.
The day we played Fylde they were, and still are, second in the league table behind the unbeaten Caldy side. They had won eight, drawn one and lost one of their ten games and it seemed to me that the chances of a win were a bit remote, but the possibility of a losing bonus point was something we could achieve.
The day of the game I was doing some work on my computer and I kept checking the Fylde Twitter account for the state of the game. In the second minute of the game Mike Adlard scored a try to give us an early lead but Fylde soon hit back with a penalty goal from Smith and two tries from Connor and Rawlings, one of which was converted by Smith. After 18 minutes the home side led by 17-5 and I was beginning to fear the worst.
However, in the 22nd minute, our full-back Steve McColl, on loan from Doncaster Knights, scored a try which was converted by Reece Dean and Hull were back in the game at 17-12. Another Smith penalty goal in the 39th minute took the score to 20-12 in favour of the home side. Little did I know that this was to be the last time that the mighty Fylde were to trouble the score-board operators!!
In the 52nd minute, Reece Dean landed a penalty to make the score 20-15 and I began to think that a losing bonus point was becoming a real possibility. Ten minutes later Mike Adlard went in again for a try which Reece Dean converted and we were ahead by 22-20. With 17 minutes remaining I was still not counting my chickens but the job I was doing on my computer was put on the back burner and all of my attention was concentrated on the Fylde Twitter account.
As there was no further scoring, this was a very tense time for me, no news of scores, no comments from the Twitter writer. Had he disappeared I wondered, or had he lost interest? Eventually the final score was announced.
I thumped my desk so hard I nearly sprained my wrist before I reached for my bottle of Famous Grouse whisky and drank to the health of our team of heroes on their famous victory.
We went on to win nine of our next 12 games and we now sit very comfortably in eighth spot in the league table.
HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 