Hull's victory was put into perspective by Head Coach, John Widdowson, who said that despite this victory Hull could and should have been much further ahead if they had managed to eliminate errors and poor execution at vital moments.
Nevertheless, he was pleased with the progress the side is making and paid full tribute to the whole squad. He emphasised that that includes the 2nd XV from whose ranks players like Stephenson and Foxton are emerging as players who can take their place in this highly competitive level of Rugby Union in National League 2.
Stockport arrived with high hopes of a win for themselves and they opened up in style and put Hull's line under great pressure for the first five minutes with Hull unable to get their hands on the ball. However, Hull's great defence held out and when Stockport were only able to come away with a penalty after five minutes through their full-back Longmore, it was poor recompense for all their pressure. Hull's Cameron levelled the scores with his own well struck penalty after 9 minutes and Hull's forwards and backs started to combine well and a steady stream of good possession saw White, Hull's former scrum-half now midfield player, put in two wonderful passes to his centre partner Slingsby whose angled runs took him over for two tries in the 11th and 21st minutes. Cameron's conversions seemed to have put Hull in command but Stockport showed their own spirit and organisation when they fashioned an excellent drive on 37 minutes to see their free scoring flanker Smith credited with the touch down which Longmore converted to give the home side some concerns at half time with the score at 17-10 in Hull's favour.
The second half was only three minutes old when Hull's attack was halted illegally by Stockport and Hull's Cameron made no mistake with the penalty. Hull's influential No. 8 Ollie Cook had to go off injured but his replacement, Maxwell Lewis, was soon in the thick of the action emphasising the Hull side's strength in depth. A frustrating second half saw both sides struggle to make possession count and a further exchange of penalties saw the teams heading into the last 15 minutes with Hull 23-13 ahead. Stockport's afternoon was then summed up when they worked a perfect position for a catch and drive from a lineout five yards from Hull's line only for Hull's Phil Murphy to steal the ball and end Stockport's fading hopes of a revival.
Hull have now gone five games unbeaten and are starting to fulfill the promise they showed in earlier matches when they were coming up short by a three or four points a game.
Match Report by Richard Gore