Huddersfield 24-14 Wakefield: Giants see off Trinity in Challenge Cup
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 11/05/18 10:21pm
Huddersfield are through to the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup after a 24-14 victory over Wakefield.
Ukuma Ta'ai scored one and created another of the hosts' four tries as the Giants put aside their struggling league form to knock out Trinity at John Smith's Stadium.
Adam O'Brien, Matty English and Lee Gaskell also crossed for Huddersfield and Danny Brough kicked four goals, while Mason Caton-Brown and Ryan Hampshire scored tries for the visitors.
It was a winning send-off for interim coach Chris Thorman ahead of Huddersfield's new head coach Simon Woolford taking charge.
Wakefield made the better start to the game and took the lead in the fifth minute. Caton-Brown pounced on Jacob Miller's grubber-kick to the corner, although it was too far out for Liam Finn to land the conversion.
After Huddersfield's Paul Clough was held up over the tryline, Finn found his range from a penalty to nudge his side 6-0 ahead in the 12th minute.
But the home side drew level in fortuitous circumstances four minutes later.
O'Brien's long pass, close to the Trinity tryline was almost intercepted by Tom Johnstone, but the ball instead bobbled out of the winger's grasp and into his side's in-goal area for the grateful O'Brien to touch down.
But with the big Wakefield pack starting to gain the upper hand, a stretched Giants' defence conceded a succession of penalties, which culminated in Kruise Leeming being sent to the sin-bin.
Finn landed the subsequent penalty to take his side back into the lead, with only desperate last-ditch Giants defending preventing Keegan Hirst from adding Wakefield's second try and providing them with more than their narrow two-point
advantage at half-time.
But five minutes after the restart England academy prop, English, powered his way through for his first senior score, and Brough converted to take the Giants into the lead for the first time.
Huddersfield extended their advantage when Jake Mamo took play to the line and fed the onrushing Ta'ai to crash over.
The hosts then tightened their grip on the contest even further with 15 minutes remaining when Ta'ai burst clear and served a try on a plate for Gaskell to cross for another converted score.
Hampshire went over in the corner two minutes later and Finn landed the conversion to bring the gap back to 10 points, but Huddersfield held on.