Re: I remember where I was moments (Hull FC related) : Fri Sep 24, 2021 6:35 pm
It was Horne who kicked through and had the try disallowed. For Irregular Hoops here's the Codgers Corner here are my reminiscences of that day." .......I found myself on my own, sat there in glorious isolation on Bunker’s Hill as the drizzle started to fall. After about 20 minutes everything was ‘going to plan’ and we were 18-0 down.
I remember at the start of the second half Halifax’s Mercer barrelled in for another try, only to be pulled back by the referee for a ‘double movement’, but they converted a penalty, while amidst chants of “You’re on the P*ss”, from the Threepenny’s Hull’s Michael Smith dropped the ball twice, when it appeared easier to score and it was little different to the first half, as Halifax piled forward again. Then, after 60 minutes things started to change. Logan Campbell ‘fed’ young Richard Horne who went over in the corner and ‘Two Bobs’ Rob Roberts added the goal. Before we could even talk of this being a consolation try, Hallas stole the ball and sent Gary Lester flying away on a 60 yard run for the galloping and supporting Steve Craven to score our second. All of a sudden the tiny gathering of ‘pilgrims’ was sounding more like a ‘proper’ crowd and I hurried back to the ‘New’ Threepenny’s to join in the fun. Our excitement was tempered when Halifax’s Holroyd dropped a goal, but soon after that Michael Smith actually caught the ball before stumbling over the line on his knees and amazingly we were just three points behind!
Then, of course, as always happens when you’re down and there’s a glimmer of hope, the unbelievable and then the inevitable happens to extinguish it. Firstly, with just two minutes left, Richard Horne belied his years to brilliantly grubber ahead, collect and score, we went barmy before of course, Referee Connolly disallowed the try. Why? Well to this day I’ll never know, but that was it, or at least it should have been. With just seconds to go Horne took a ball from the last scrum of the game, kicked a desperate towering up and under and Graham Hallas somehow got underneath it, caught it on the run over his head to cruise through a gap and over the Halifax line, ‘Two Bobs’ goaled and we were victorious 24-21. It was an amazing scene, we’d not won anything but 2 points and a game against the ridiculously named Blue Sox and we were not even safe from relegation, but women danced, children screamed and grown men wept!!
I remember years afterwards my pal Kathy said that by that time all her family had given up hope and so she attended by herself. At the end she was overcome by the drama of it all and searched desperately to find someone to dance with and hug, it was that sort of day at the Boulevard. At half time the win seemed impossible! Years later I asked Steve Crooks about that game and he told me that he can never ever remember shouting at a team like he did that day in the half time break, and he added that most of what he said was totally unrepeatable ....".
