Pride is restored as Hull weather the storm.

(From Hull Daily Mail)

Thank You. Hull FC made one person very happy yesterday - in fact, their crucial victory over Salford City Reds at the KC Stadium, was the perfect birthday present for my daughter Kelly.

Victory over the in-form Reds rounded off her 28th birthday celebrations on a high and as she set off for a few drinks with friends, she revealed: "That's made a perfect day even more perfect." Hull's performance didn't reach the dizzy heights of last year when they sent Salford crashing to a club record 82-6 defeat but it was a marked improvement over some recent displays and a big boost after last weekend's loss at Warrington.

It wasn't the most fluent or prettiest Hull have played but this was packed with true grit, determination and character and it was built around an awesome defensive show, especially in the opening 20 minutes when they had to withstand wave after wave of Salford pressure.

Earlier in the week, local stars Richard Horne and Paul Cooke had stressed Hull needed to get back to that ruthless streak they had shown in defence over the previous two years. The gauntlet was thrown down and Hull picked it up and battered the Reds.

Granted, Hull didn't help their cause at times by handing over cheap possession through needless offloads or penalties but after each error they dug deep and refused to wilt as Salford laid siege for virtually all of the opening 20 minutes.

It was 22 minutes before Hull finally got into the Salford 20-metre zone with ball in hand and how they restricted the Reds to just a Cliff Beverley try on six minutes, improved by former Robin Chris Charles, was quite remarkable.