HULL FC head coach John Cartwright admitted it would have been “almost impossible” to win the derby with twelve men.
His side lost Cade Cust after only 16 minutes of the Good Friday clash with Hull KR and, despite a spirited second-half fightback, succumbed to defeat.
Cartwright was full of pride, but left frustrated by ultimately coming up short.
“I didn’t have a great view of it (the red card), but I will say there was no malicious intent,” he said.
“He (Cust) chased the kick very hard and there was a big collision. It’s a different game these days – if you make contact with the head, mitigating factors don’t seem to matter sometimes.
“You could hear the air come out of the stadium when it happened. It’s nearly impossible to win with twelve men, and to get back within one score with not long to go, it was one of the better performances I’ve seen from the side.”
Cartwright was quick to point out the importance of finding a response after a disappointing defeat, with Wigan Warriors due to visit the MKM Stadium next Sunday.
“There’s nothing better as a coach to watch a team that never gives up, and eight games in that’s what we’ve seen,” he added.
“If we keep turning up with that attitude, there’s enough skill in our team to beat anyone. Our challenge is to just keep going and producing that effort every week.
“The next 24-48 hours are going to be hard. We hung in there and they got away from us in the end but we’ve bounced back from these before, so we’ll look to do the same again.”
