Hull FC 34 Salford City Reds 26: Two-try Lineham shines on home debut but Gentle in Hull warning

Hull twice let a 12-point lead slip against Salford Reds before finally securing a 34-26 victory at the KC Stadium with a late try by ex-Salford man Jordan Turner.

The result leaves Salford four points off the top eight, while the Airlie Birds reinforced their top-six aspirations with a second successive victory.

“We did our best to throw it away and we got out to 12-point leads twice, but we leaked a bit of pressure and they fought their way back into it,” said Gentle.

“We knew how important this game was to them and we kept sending out invitations for them to play some footy against us.

“It is frustrating because we are looking at the semi-finals coming up and if you get 12 points up in a semi-final you can’t gift sides field position in the way we did,” he said.

“On the plus side, it was the first time we’ve managed to win on the back of a derby game and we did well getting over the physical and emotional fatigue that follows a derby.

“We overcame that well and it was a gutsy effort, but our execution was poor at times.”

Salford threatened a stirring comeback thanks two tries for centre pairing Ashley Gibson and Sean Gleeson, after a first-half score for ex-Hull player Jodie Broughton had set them on their way.

Turner’s last-minute try killed off the Reds’ hopes, however, and capped a five-try performance by Hull who had taken command of the game courtesy of two tries for 20-year-old winger Tom Lineham on his home debut and a score each for Kirk Yeaman and Joe Westerman.

Lineham got his first taste of Super League in last Monday’s televised Hull derby and, following his second-half cameo in the hostile environment of Craven Park, the 20-year-old revelled in being on home turf for the first time.

Salford coach Phil Veivers bemoaned a lack of consistency after watching two points once again slip away from his side’s grasp.

“I’m very disappointed because we fought back well,” said Veivers.

“We let some soft tries in but came back well.

“The try right on half-time killed us and if we could have held out it may have been a different story.

“It is another one that has got away this year and it is very frustrating.

“The lack of consistency has been the story of our season - it is a subject we have broached many times and it is the area this team needs to improve in.”

Hull: T. Briscoe, Foster, Turner, Yeaman, Lineham, McGoldrick, Heremaia, Watts, Houghton, O’Meley, Manu, Westerman, Aspinwall. Substitutes: Lynch, Pitts, Green, Nicklas.

Salford: Patten, Broughton, Gleeson, Gibson, Williams, Holdsworth, Sneyd, Jewitt, Howarth, Boyle, Ashurst, Adamson, Wild. Substitutes: Nero, Sidlow, Gledhill, James.

Referee: R Hicks (Oldham).