Super League: Castleford Tigers fight back to draw with Hull FC

Jordan Rankin: Injury to half-back played a big role in Castleford fightback

Castleford ran in three tries in the final 13 minutes to grab a dramatic 18-18 draw against Hull at the KC Stadium.

The home side were firmly on course to clinch a win which would have rekindled their slim play-off hopes, but Hull-bound stand-off Marc Sneyd sparked a remarkable fightback late in the game

Sneyd, who is joining Hull on a three-year deal at the end of the season, could have won it for the Tigers but he missed the target with three of his four conversion attempts on a rare off-night.

The Black and Whites did put in an improved display, being lifted by the return of skipper Gareth Ellis and a man-of-the-match display by loose forward Joe Westerman.

Lee Radford's men were a rejuvenated side from the kick-off and grabbed the opening try when centre Kirk Yeaman created an overlap for winger Fetuli Talanoa to finish things off.

On one of the few occasions the Tigers managed to break free Sneyd whetted the appetite of the home fans ahead of his pending move to the KC Stadium with a superb break that set up a 15th try of the season for centre Michael Shenton.

The normally reliable Sneyd missed the conversion attempt and Hull increased their lead through 18-year-old Jordan Abdull, who jinked past two flat-footed defenders to score his first try for the club.

Scramble

Jordan Rankin's second goal made it 12-4 and although Hull were then forced to scramble after a wonderful flowing move from the Tigers, the score remained that way at half-time.

Castleford’s task began to look impossible when Kirk Dixon lost the ball just outside his own 20-metre area within two minutes of the restart and Hull immediately took advantage as Abdull sent Yeaman crashing over for their third try.

Rankin kicked a third goal but hobbled off six minutes into the second half and Hull lost some of their momentum in the resulting re-shuffle.

Castleford rallied and Shenton carved out a score for Sneyd with a trademark slicing run on 67 minutes, with the conversion cutting the gap back to eight points.

The deficit was reduced even further on 73 minutes when Hull failed to clear the danger caused by Sneyd's grubber kick and James Clare picked up the loose ball to sprint away for a 30-metre try.

Abdull was then carried off on a stretcher with a head injury following a collision with Hauraki, who was put on report by referee James Child.

Hull fans bayed for a penalty but Castleford took advantage of excellent field position as Clare collected Sneyd's clever kick to the corner for his second try, but Sneyd’s missed conversion denied the visitors an improbable win.