Smith helps Wire beat Hull FC to keep pace at top
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Betfred Super League
Warrington (0) 12
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Tries: Smith 2 Goals: Sneyd 2
Hull FC (4) 4
Try: Barron
Josh Smith scored two second-half tries as Warrington struggled past Hull FC to move level on points with Leeds at the top of Super League.
Wire were a long way from their best and trailed 4-0 at half-time after Harvey Barron's early try for the visitors.
Warrington finally managed to get on the scoreboard as Smith went over seven minutes into the second half, with Marc Sneyd's excellent conversion from the right touchline giving them the lead.
The game remained scrappy and error strewn before Smith's second try of the night in the final minute confirmed the home side's 10th victory in 12 league matches.
For Hull FC, it was a fourth defeat in a row since their 50-10 win at Castleford at the end of April and they stay 11th.
Second-placed Warrington still have a game in hand on table-toppers Leeds Rhinos and will hope playing poorly and still winning stands them in good stead for a successful campaign.
They found themselves quickly behind as Hull scored the opening try after just six minutes when they spread the play to the right wing and Barron dived into the corner.
A series of poor passes, handling errors and a yellow card for Luke Thomas followed and it was a knock-on that ruled out a try for Toby King five minutes before the break.
It was the first time Warrington had failed to score in the first half this season.
It did not take long for them to get onto the scoreboard in the second half, as a try came with an assist from an unexpected source.
On the last tackle close to the Hull line, Wire kept the ball alive well before prop Liam Byrne tried his luck with a chip towards the right corner. Hull could not deal with it and the ball fell kindly for Smith to dive for the line.
Sneyd added the extra points to put the hosts in front but it was his dropped pass in midfield that led to a Hull break and a try for Barron in the right corner only for the score to be ruled out for obstruction in the build up.
An edgy final quarter brought no concerted periods of pressure for either side before one last attack drew a yellow card for Hull's Amir Bourouh and a grubber kick that Smith dived on to seal victory.
Warrington: Webster, Ashton, King, Smith, Hopoate, Hayes, Sneyd, Thomas, Walker, Byrne, Philbin, Currie, Crowther
Interchanges: Powell, Sipley, Smith, Tanginoa
Sin-bin: Thomas
Hull FC: Moy, Barron, Hardaker, Kemp, Briscoe, Arthur, Sezer, Mata'utia, Bourouh, Hill, Batchelor, O'Neill, Cust
Interchanges: Ese'ese, Laidlaw, Salabio, Kirby
Sin-bin: Bourouh
Referee: Ryan Cox.