Catalans Dragons 25-24 Hull FC
Catalans Dragons moved off the foot of the Betfred Super League table following a last-gasp 25-24 victory against Hull FC in Perpignan.
Captains in SOM tee shirts 2018
Josh Drinkwater marked his debut for the French outfit by clinching the man-of-the-match award, but following two one-point victories in recent weeks, it was Hull who suffered defeat from a last-minute Tony Gigot drop goal.
Scott Taylor crashed over in the fourth minute to put the visitors ahead before Brayden Wiliame levelled, but Hull were back in front with Hakim Miloudi’s first try for the club before Jake Connor added his third goal to lead 14-6 at the break.
However, Catalans hit back with tries from Drinkwater and Gigot to move 20-14 ahead after 44 minutes, only for Taylor to touch down his second with a great 40-metre break from the prop.
Connor and Drinkwater traded penalties before the Hull man and Michael McIlorum were sin-binned for an altercation after a tackle.
Drinkwater added his sixth kick to nudge Catalans 24-22 ahead with six minutes left, but Connor followed suit and looked to have earned a point for the Black and Whites before Gigot’s late intervention.
Catalans head coach Steve McNamara said: “It was a real roller coaster of a game, so many events and swings of momentum.
“I thought we got what we deserved, I thought we deserved the win tonight and it’s been a tough period for us and to get one of the big scalps like Hull at home is great for the club.
“The players have worked extremely hard for this and it’s nice for us to go into our next game with the two points in the bag.”
Hull boss Lee Radford told the club’s official website: “We fell into Catalans trap and that frustrates me. Everything we said Catalans would do, with regards to slowing the game down to their pace, they did.
“We should have won the game. I’m frustrated with the result. We didn’t get up for this game. We’re a top side and we’ll be ready for next Saturday.”