Survival hopes take a tumble

Aug 20 2001 By Doug Thomson, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Blue Sox 19 Giants 12. A MATCH which started in a deluge ended with Halifax smiling in the sunshine and Huddersfield's hopes of remaining within a point of Super League relegation rivals Wakefield washed down the drain.

While the Blue Sox wiped away any mathematical chance of finishing in the dreaded bottom spot, the Giants were left three points behind the Wildcats with four games to go, including a crunch contest at Belle Vue on the penultimate Sunday.

Huddersfield went into the 24th round of matches with high hopes of climbing off the foot of the table for the first time this season.

But the first setback arrived with news that Wakefield had beaten Salford in a match which kicked-off two-and-a-half hours earlier than that at The Shay.

And the second came as Halifax held firm against a second-half Huddersfield onslaught to maintain their 100% record in the sixth Super League showdown in Calderdale.

The Giants' bid to clinch a fourth win of the campaign was finally extinguished by the boot of Danny Tickle.

The teenage tormentor had a fine game in the second row and took his personal tally to 11 points with the 72nd-minute drop goal which stretched the home side's lead to a crucial seven points.

But the Giants had their chances in a match which was never a classic but always held the attention.

And any Wakefield fan who thinks the relegation battle is already decided would be unwise to say the least.

Most of the Giants' problems were self-inflicted - both their handling and discipline were poor - but there was no shortage of effort, grit and determination.

On occasions, Huddersfield's eagerness to win the physical battle which coach Tony Smith pinpointed as being so vital meant they went a touch over the top, with a dozen penalties conceded.

Some would say Australian prop Troy Stone was lucky to stay on the pitch following his bodycheck on Gavin Clinch after the former Giant had kicked through (referee Russell Smith ended up giving a warning to the wrong man in Brandon Costin).

And loose-forward Stanley Gene was put on report after catching full-back Damian Gibson with a flailing arm.

Any suspension for the Papuan would be a real blow for the Giants, because he remains their most dangerous playmaker and again made the scoresheet yesterday, taking his try tally to six in nine games since moving on loan from Hull.

Hooker Paul Rowley, one of five players with previous associations with the opposition who figured in this match, notched Huddersfield's other try.

That came in the 30th minute, and somewhat against the run of play after Smith's side had done well to restrict lively Halifax to just two scores during an early spell of pressure which kept most of the play in the Giants' half.

With possession and penalties being conceded far too easily, Halifax's Australian loose- forward Shane McMenemy finally took advantage by crossing from Clinch's neat pass in the 10th minute, leaving Tickle with a straightforward goal.

Halifax lost stand-off Andrew Dunemann to injury after 14 minutes, but his replacement Matty Firth slotted in well, and did the groundwork for Clinch to set up Tickle for the second home touchdown, again goaled, on 23 minutes.

Huddersfield badly needed a break, and finally got one.

Prop Steve Molloy, just on for Richard Marshall, did well to wrest possession from Halifax with his first touch of the ball.

That set up the attack from which scrum half Ben Kusto's grubber kick ricocheted off a Halifax leg, looping between the posts for the grateful Rowley to finish.

Stand-off Brandon Costin, wide with a sixth-minute penalty attempt, had no trouble with the conversion, and in the 35th minute, reduced the deficit to 12-8 with a penalty after McMenemy went high on Mick Slicker.

That good work was undone three minutes after the restart when Adam Hughes took advantage of Firth's pass to go over in the corner, too far out for Tickle to convert.

But the Giants weren't going to lie down.

Costin, Kusto, Rowley and skipper Steve McNamara all drove towards the line before Gene finally brushed off Hughes' attempted tackle to ground the ball in the 53rd minute.

Even though Costin couldn't add the extras, Halifax were on the back foot and looking a little vulnerable.

Both Gene and Martin Gleeson went close, only to lose control with the line beckoning, before Halifax finally notched the crucial one-pointer - at the second attempt.

Clinch's 67th-minute effort drifted wide, but Tickle made no mistake from ex-Huddersfield hooker Johnny Lawless's pass.

Match Facts:
Halifax Blue Sox - Gibson; Marns (Hughes, 27mins), Hassan, Donlan, Lee; Dunemann (Firth, 14mins), Clinch; Goldspink (Hobson, 57mins), Lawless, Gannon (Brocklehurst, 74mins), Tickle, Brocklehurst (Penkywicz, 32mins), McMenemy.
Tries - McMenemy 10mins, Tickle 23mins, Hughes 43mins.
Goals - Tickle 3 from 5.
Drop goal - Tickle.

Huddersfield Giants - Reilly; Frew, Gleeson, Thorman, Langley; Costin, Kusto; Stone (Molloy, 28mins, Walker, 58mins), Rowley, Marshall (Slicker, 28mins, Stone, 50mins, Marshall 73mins), Atkins (Lomax, 50mins), McNamara, Gene.
Tries - Rowley 30mins, Gene 53mins.
Goals - Costin 2 from 4.
Half-time - 14-8.
Referee - Russell Smith (Castleford).
Attendance - 4,328.
Scrums won - Halifax 11, Huddersfield 9.
Penalties conceded - Halifax 10, Huddersfield 12.
Top Giants tacklers - Atkins 26, Costin 25.
Giants run-in - Sunday: London (away), Sat Sept 1: Hull (home), Sun 9: Wakefield (away), Sun 16: London (home).
Wakefield run-in - Monday Aug 27: Hull (home), Sun Sept 2: Halifax (away), Sun 9: Giants (home), Sun 16: Salford (away).