Hull KR 18-16 Hull FC: Jimmy Keinhorst scores last-gasp try to seal dramatic derby win
Last Updated: 02/02/19 8:48am
A try six seconds from the end of a pulsating Hull derby by debutant centre Jimmy Keinhorst earned Hull KR a 18-16 victory over Hull FC in front of a stadium record crowd of 12,100 at KCOM Craven Park.
Hull looked to have gained their first win for seven months when winger Bureta Faraimo went over for their third try 14 minutes from the end of a thrilling round one Betfred Super League clash.
But in the very last play, Hull KR worked the ball wide and Keinhorst - one of five close-season recruits - produced a spectacular dive at the corner that earned his side the spoils.
It meant a 12th-successive defeat for Hull, who desperately lacked the creativity of their absent half-backs.
Yet it was all Hull in the first quarter, with back-row forward Danny Washbrook performing an admirable job as a make-shift stand-off in the absence of Jake Connor and Albert Kelly through suspension and injury respectively.
Full-back Jamie Shaul was brought down just short of the line by his opposite number Chris Atkin in the opening moments and the visitors' pressure paid off with two tries in four minutes.
Second rower Sika Manu proved unstoppable from five metres out for an opportunist score, while Washbrook put in a delicate grubber kick for winger Matty Dawson-Jones to mark his debut with a try.
Marc Sneyd kicked both conversions to make it 12-0 but was then wide with a penalty and Rovers turned the tables in the second quarter.
New captain Joel Tomkins slid over the line after taking a pinpoint pass from evergreen veteran half-back Danny McGuire, who then kicked into space for his old Leeds team-mate Mitch Garbutt to score on his debut.
Josh Drinkwater, another debutant, converted both tries and nudged his side in front for the first time with a penalty three minutes before half-time.
The home side had all the momentum at that time and piled on the pressure at the start of the second half.
But Hull look to have found a new defensive resolve in 2019 and somehow held out rampant Rovers.
They hit their hosts on the counter-attack after 66 minutes when Sneyd's long ball found Faraimo in space and he fended off a series of wrong-footed defenders on an explosive run to the line.
That looked to be enough to halt Hull's 11-match losing run but Rovers had other ideas and, on balance, probably deserved their opening-round victory.
Match reaction
Hull KR coach Tim Sheens almost took Jimmy Keinhorst from the field just before he scored the match-winning try in his side's 18-16 derby victory over Hull FC.
"You don't expect that with two minutes to go, being at your own end and really struggling, so to get down the other end without a penalty and come up with the right play was a tremendous effort," Sheens said.
"I was just about to replace Jimmy with Kane Linnett. He was struggling towards the back end because he hadn't played a full game for quite a while but I thought he was good."
Hull's defeat extended their losing run to 12 matches going back to last June but coach Lee Radford said he was proud of his side's efforts.
"I walked into the changing rooms and they had their heads down so I told them to get their heads up," he said.
"I'm proud of the performance. We did a lot of good stuff, unfortunately we just got nipped at the end. I thought we did enough to get a result."