St Helens moved to the top of the Super League table with an 18-16 win over Huddersfield Giants on Thursday.
Paul Lawrie’s side bounced back from a 32-0 defeat to rivals Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup semi-final to make it five league wins in a row and will be watching second-placed Leeds Rhinos, who could return to the top of the table with a win over Wigan Warriors on Friday, live on Sky Sports.
At Huddersfield, St Helens led 24-0 at half-time with four first-half tries from Harry Robertson, Lewis Murphy, Owen Dagnall and George Delaney, but the hosts fought back in the second half.
Tries from Asher O’Donnell, Adam Swift and Niall Evers gave St Helens a bit of anxiety, but Huddersfield had too much to do and lost their ninth game of the Super League season to remain bottom of the table.
Lowry told Sky Sports: “While we tolerated some of the disruption with some of the content we had in place, the stop-start nature (of the game) caused a loss of concentration and made it unappealing to watch and play.”
“So it was an ugly second half, but Huddersfield deserve credit for fighting back and showing the will to come back and keep us on our toes at the end.”
Huddersfield Giants tried to come back from 24-0 down at half-time but were unable to get back into the game (SW Pix)
The match was Huddersfield interim coach Liam Finn’s last game in charge before Australian Jim Lenihan arrives in England next week.
Finn took over from Luke Robinson in March after Huddersfield lost their opening five league games and won his first two games as caretaker manager. However, Huddersfield have lost four league games in a row and are facing a relegation battle this season.
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Huddersfield Giants interim head coach Liam Finn has said he will join the future coaching structure under Jim Lenihan.
How St Helens fended off Huddersfield
An early break from Jack Welsby gave Saints a Harry Robertson touch-down, with Lewis Murphy punishing Huddersfield’s poor handling for a corner.
Saints added their third try in the 18th minute through winger Dagnall, and just before half-time George Delaney capitalized on a Huddersfield error.
Huddersfield hit back after the restart and O’Donnell brought down the loose ball from Tui Lolohea’s kick. Swift then scored a try against his former club, and Giants full-back Ebbles looked set for a tense finish with six minutes remaining.
However, Jackson Hastings’ decisive penalty in the 65th minute proved to be enough to send Saints home.
Jackson Hastings’ second half penalty against St Helens relieved some of the pressure from Huddersfield (SW Pix).
Super League Matchday 11 Match Schedule – Live on Sky Sports
Friday, May 15th
8pm: Wigan Warriors vs Leeds Rhinos
8pm: Wakefield Trinity v Catalans Dragons
Saturday, May 16th
3pm: York Knights v Castleford Tigers
5.30pm: Lee Leopards vs Hull KR
6pm: Toulouse Olympique vs Warrington Wolves
Sunday, May 17th
3pm: Bradford Bulls v Hull FC
Watch Wigan Warriors vs Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity vs Catalans Dragons live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports+ from 8pm on Friday. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
