Huddersfield 19 St Helens 16: Huddersfield's victory heroics earn Sharp praise

Daniel Anderson never believed for a moment that his St Helens' side could go through the Super League season unbeaten, but he can hardly have expected their run to end at Huddersfield on Saturday night.

The Saints' coach, already without influential players like Jason Cayless and Jamie Lyon, chose to rest Sean Long and started with other potential match-winners in Leon Pryce and Keiron Cunningham on the bench.

Even with an inexperienced pair of young halfbacks, however, Saints should have been confident of beating a Huddersfield side on a run of five defeats. What they had not allowed for was a huge improvement from the Giants, who worked relentlessly for a well-deserved if highly improbable win.

"I am really pleased with the way we've reacted over the last two weeks,'' said their coach, the former Saints assistant, Jon Sharp.

With the former St Helens forward Keith Mason making a sound debut in a hard-working pack, Huddersfield were clearly in the mood from the start. Paul March, standing in for their injured playmaker Chris Thorman, supplied the pass for Michael De Vere's eighth-minute try.

Saints scratched their way into the lead at the start of the second half but were never convincing, so it was only in tune with proceedings when March and Brad Drew put together some dazzling interplay for Stuart Donlan to score, with March himself sealing victory 10 minutes from time.

There was a late Saints rally but their supporters were left with just one consolation. Huddersfield's two points makes Wigan's plight at the foot of the table look even more dismal.

Huddersfield: Reilly; Aspinwall, Evans, De Vere, Donlan; March, Paul; Mason, Drew, Gannon, Smith, Raleigh, Jones. Substitutes used: Crabtree, Jackson, McDonald, Gardner.

St Helens: Wellens; Gardner, V Anderson, Talau, Meli; Moore, Smith; Fozzard, Roby, Graham, Wilkin, Sculthorpe, Hooper. Substitutes used: Pryce, Cunningham, P Anderson, Fa'asavalu.

Referee: P Bentham (Warrington).