Hull fire doused by Noble art
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Your support makes all the difference.Bradford coach Brian Noble believes there is still plenty for his Super League leaders to improve upon as they enter the final third of the season. Noble watched his side maintain their two-point advantage at the top of the table in heart-stopping fashion on Friday night as they thwarted a dramatic Hull fightback with a late Michael Withers drop goal which gave them a 25-24 victory at The Boulevard.
The Bulls looked to have seen off the challenge of their play-off-chasing rivals as they built up a 24-10 lead going into the final 15 minutes, but a blistering Matt Crowther try sparked the Airlie Birds into life. Kiwi Toa Kohe-Love touched down twice more to complete a hat-trick and level the scores in the dying moments, but there was still time for Withers to strike from 40 metres.
Noble, whose side's other points came from Leon Pryce, Robbie Paul and Stuart Fielden tries and six Paul Deacon goals, said: "We have got to learn from this. We didn't take our foot off the gas but we gave away three silly penalties and they built up the momentum. We defended very well for 65 minutes but after that there were times when we couldn't get the ball off them. They had a lot of ball in the second half but we still showed enough composure on our last set of six to kick the winning drop goal. I think we deserved to nick it because for 65 minutes we were the better team, but I think we can get a lot better."
The winning kick was only the second of Australian-born Withers' career, but Hull coach Shaun McRae admitted it was the perfect strike. McRae, beaten narrowly again after a 32-30 loss to St Helens a fortnight ago, said: "It was a great field goal. He hit it really well. He was confident from the moment he hit it. There was not a lot of time left but they put themselves in the position to do it. It was always going to come down to who got that chance.
"We just didn't have enough time for that last play. We've lost three games in a row now, but by one point and two points to the best sides in the competition, so anyone negative towards the players is being a bit harsh."
Second-placed St Helens stayed within two points of the world club champions as they held off a strong challenge from London at wet Knowsley Road. Coach Ian Millward was instantly rewarded for signing a new five-year deal at the club as they won 22-14 with tries from Chris Joynt, Martin Gleeson, Darren Albert and Tommy Martyn.
Victory was far from straightforward, however, as Denis Moran and Michael Gillett touchdowns kept the Broncos in contention.
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