Tex Hoy inflicted more pain on Hull FC's miserable season with a two-try return to the MKM Stadium. The full-back, meeting his former club for the second time this year since departing back in April, scored in each half as Castleford Tigers ran out 39-20 winners on Saturday afternoon, with half-back Rowan Milnes also having a big say on a contest that swung one way and then the other.

Hull, meanwhile, saw their strongest spell of the game come either side of half-time, but they couldn't take their chances. Fighting back after a strong Castleford start, they were well within the contest in the second half, trailing by just four points, but they failed to make a numerical advantage count as the away side were dealt a double sin bin blow in what was a huge period of the game.

With composure lacking in key periods, Hull, who were poor at times both in defence and in attack, failed to maximise the space on offer, and after a sin bin for Yusuf Aydin, their fate was soon confined. Castleford turned the screw again, and they ended up running out both comfortable and deserved winners.

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On what was another tough day for Hull, Danny Houghton only lasted several minutes on his 450th club appearance before limping off with another calf injury. The 35-year-old, who confirmed he will retire at the end of the season on Friday, was one of four changes to the Hull side, with Denive Balmforth and Ligi Sao, who was also lost to a HIA, back from suspension. Sam Eseh also took a place on the bench, with Hull also losing Jack Ashworth and Jordan Lane to knocks.

A soft start saw Castleford strike first, with slick and quick hands putting Innes Senior into space, who finished strong in the corner. Hull responded quickly through Sao, who took Balmforth's neat pass to power over, but it was then all one-way traffic.

Castleford hit Hull with three quick-fire tries to race back into the lead. First, Milnes made light work of the home side's defence to score off a scrum play before Hull-born half-back Jenson Windley got on the end of a Liam Watts break and evaded the cover defence to dive over. And when Hoy supported on the inside to extend the lead to 18 points, things were looking ominous.

The frustration was sensed in a sparse home crowd throughout the half, but Hull did grow back into the game through a try brace from Harvey Barron. The winger first finished strong after a slick catch and pass from Carlos Tuimavave before taking a Jack Charles spiralling pass to dive over.

Hull had their tails up now, with the first score of the second half crucial. They thought they had it when Lewis Martin dived over out wide, but video referee evidence confirmed that Hull's kick chase was offside. But the home side persisted, and they got their reward as Herman Ese'ese bounced off a would-be tackle and fed Carlos Tuimavave, who had a clear run to the line. That brought Hull to within four points, and it was very much game on.

Castleford's poor discipline continued to help Hull's cause, with Sylvester Namo and then Liam Horne sent to the sin bin for high and late shots, but despite Hull rolling the dice against 11 men, they couldn't land the decisive blow, failing to take advantage of space out wide.

With the Fords up to 12 players, the Black and Whites then suffered a sin-binning of their own, with Aydin yellow-carded, and from the resulting penalty, Milnes extended Castleford's lead to six with a penalty goal. And after the away side got field position following a filthy Hoy step and break, they scored what would turn out to be a huge try, with Namo crashing over after Paul McShane's pass.

That gave Castleford breathing space, and they tied up their win with a Milnes drop-goal, with Hoy landing the gloss late on, bursting through the line to score his second try of the game, and with that, confining Hull to a 21st defeat of the Super League season.

Teams

Hull Starting XIII: 37. Logan Moy; 25. Harvey Barron, 3. Carlos Tuimavave, 44. Tom Briscoe, 26. Lewis Martin; 19. Morgan Smith, 40. Jack Charles; 8. Herman Ese’ese, 9. Danny Houghton, 21. Will Gardiner; 15. Jordan Lane, 12. Ligi Sao; 45. Yusuf Aydin

Interchange: 16. Jack Ashworth, 28. Denive Balmforth, 51. Leon Ruan, 52. Sam Eseh. 18th Man: 27. Zach Jebson

Castleford Starting XIII: 34. Tex Hoy; 33. Jason Qareqare, 1. Luke Hookey, 28. Will Tate, 5. Innes Senior; 16. Rowan Milnes, 38. Jenson Windley; 8. Liam Watts, 14. Liam Horne, 13. Joe Westerman; 12. Alex Mellor, 11. Elie El-Zakhem; 29. George Hill

Interchange: 9. Paul McShane, 10. George Lawler, 20. Muizz Mustapha, 21. Sylvester Namo. 18th man: 24. Cain Robb

Scorers

Hull Tries: Sao, Barron 2, Tuimavave. Goals: Charles 2/4

Castleford Tries: Senior, Milnes, Windley, Hoy 2, Namo. Goals: Milnes 7/7. Drop Goal: Milnes

Scoring System: 0-6, 6-6, 6-12, 6-18, 6-24, 10-24, 14-24, HT, 20-24, 20-26, 20-32, 20-33, 20-39,

Referee: Liam Rush

Attendance: 10,271

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