Tickle treble sinks Crusaders

Danny Tickle scored a hat-trick of tries and booted four conversions to lead Hull FC to a 28-20 victory over Celtic Crusaders in Bridgend.

Tries from Damien Quinn and Marshall Chalk put Celtic in early control, but Hull hit back through Shaun Berrigan and a brace from Tickle to lead 18-10.

Tickle grabbed his third and while Chalk added his second Mark Calderwood grabbed his first Hull try before Tony Duggan crossed for a consolation.

The Welsh club took the lead early on when stand-off Quinn went rushing through on the left after he was put in by Chris Beasley for the opening try of the game - and the historic first one scored in Wales by a home club.

The noisy home crowd roared second row Marshall Chalk, was put in by skipper Jace Van Dijk in the 22, over the line for a second try.

A conversion from Josh Hannay meant the Crusaders were 10-0 up and on the crest of a wave.

However, Hull calmed matters down and, after Shaun Berrigan had scored the first try when he got past Van Dijk, they began to assert their authority.

Tickle got his first touchdown on 36 minutes with a second conversion putting Hull into a 12-10 lead.

And two more either side of half-time meant Hull surged into a 24-10 lead and left the Welshmen floundering.

The atmosphere went quiet midway through the match after Chalk got his second try - but it picked up when Mark Calderwood went over in the closing minutes for an unconverted touchdown, before Crusaders' try machine Duggan got a consolation at the end.