Costin's clincher!

Apr 19 2003 By Chris Roberts, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Halifax 20 - 21 Huddersfield Giants. A STUNNING drop goal from Brandon Costin with 45 seconds remaining secured the Giants a third successive Super League victory.

It proved to be the icing on the cake in a pulsating derby clash full of thrills, spills, blood, sweat and tears .

The quality of the contest may not have been of the highest order, with far too many errors for the rugby league purist.

But that hardly mattered as the Giants once again showed all the right qualities to grind out the toughest of triumphs.

And coach Tony Smith must have been proud of the way his players dug so deep in the second half as Halifax twice fought back from 12-point deficits to set up a nail-biting finale.

The home side's second revival, in particular, threatened to spoil the Giants' Good Friday party.

From being 20-8 down in the 56th minute, Halifax had levelled to 20-20 by the 65th and looked on course to snatch the Super League points.

But the Giants weathered the storm and hung on long enough to break the home side's hearts with Costin's late decisive strike.

Although Halifax regained the ball from the restart, time ran out and Huddersfield were celebrating another memorable win - their first at Halifax since 1977.

It was a win the Giants just about deserved, with Halifax called upon to produce far more potential trysaving tackles than their opponents.