Lineham's Hat-Trick Inspires Hull

Tom Lineham claimed an eye-catching hat-trick as Hull FC beat Widnes 22-8 to record back-to-back Super League wins for the first time since last June.

Lineham scored a treble in a losing cause at Castleford last month but his efforts on Friday night settled a drab contest at the KC Stadium.

The 22-year-old winger showed good opportunism and no little speed on two occasions to intercept passes and race over 90 metres to add to his early opener.

Jamie Shaul went over late on to secure victory, with tries from Kevin Brown and Patrick Ah Van unable to prevent Widnes from falling to a fifth successive away defeat.

Ah Van had an early opportunity to give the Vikings an extra spring in their step but a foot in touch saw his effort ruled out.

But there was no doubt when Lineham slid over in the corner at the other end on nine minutes after Shaul spun out of a tackle and found his winger with a nice cut-out pass.

Widnes duo Stefan Marsh and Chris Dean were both forced off following a sickening clash of heads, and they lost a third player before the interval as Lloyd White hobbled off.

The visitors thought they had edged in front when Joe Mellor touched down his own dab through, only for the video referee to correctly rule a knock-on.

What might have been a half-time lead turned into a six-point deficit as Lineham intercepted Brown's pass and raced 95 metres for a try which took him level with Castleford's Justin Carney on nine for the season.

And he was out on his own as leading try-scorer when he repeated the trick just after the break, Hanbury the victim on this occasion as he tried to find Ah Van 10 metres from the Hull line.

Hull’s fourth try arrived with 13 minutes remaining when Rankin’s grubber kick hit a post and sat up perfectly for Shaul to slide over.

Widnes gave themselves some hope when Ah Van finished spectacularly in the corner, but it proved no more than a consolation.