Huddersfield 16-14 Castleford

Huddersfield pipped Castleford to a Carnegie Challenge Cup Semi-Final place, after recovering from a 14-6 deficit to win the game 16-14.

The Tigers controlled much of the game, however, a continuous spell of pressure from the Giants in the final quarter finally took its toll and the Giants scored two tries to seal victory, and set up a tie against St Helens.

Terry Matterson’s men started the brightest and got their reward when Rangi Chase‘s kick was caught by Michael Shenton, who had enough strength to get the ball down.

Huddersfield tried to break the away side down to no avail, but managed to pull in front when Kevin Brown showed some skill and determination to work his way over.

Both sides struggled to keep the ball in the searing heat, but the Tigers managed to equal matters when Kirk Dixon landed a penalty goal prior to the half-time interval.

Huddersfield thought they had scored an early second half try when David Hodgson touched down, but it was ruled out by referee Richard Silverwood for a forward pass.

And the Tigers took the ball up the other end and added to their score when Chris Feather‘s offload found teammate Brett Ferres to go over, and Dixon’s second conversion plus a further penalty put the visitors in control at 14-6.

Castleford then looked to have scored again, but their effort was ruled out by a pass off the ground.

However, they never really look assured in attack, and they were made to pay in the final quarter after an intense spell of pressure.

Luke Robinson was kept relatively quiet all afternoon, but it was his sweet reverse pass which enabled Stephen Wild to go through a gap and round full-back Richard Owen, to bring matters back to 14-12.

And with minutes remaining on the clock, Huddersfield ensured passage into the next round when Danny Kirmond exploited space down the Tigers’ flank to cross and send the home faithful into raptures.