Kingston-upon-Hell - Hull clubs promise to ban thugs for life after pitch invasion

Hull's Great Britain centre Kirk Yeaman denied that he had been punched during a melee when angry Rovers fans reacted to scores of visiting supporters breaking through the stewards' cordon to celebrate their team's victory.

Scroll down to read more:

But Hull captain Lee Radford appeared to be spat at as baton-wielding police and stewards struggled to restore order. Rovers chief executive Paul Lakin and his opposite number James Rule both attended the after-match press conference to emphasise their disappointment at how the game ended.

Lakin said: 'Both clubs will be holding a full investigation and will ban the perpetrators. The invasion marred a very good game.'

Hull were in trouble seven years ago when their fans invaded the Huddersfield pitch and dismantled the goal posts at one end after their Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Leeds. They were fined and warned about their future conduct. This was hardly on the same scale and the stewarding seemed totally inadequate at the end where the Hull fans advanced at the final hooter. There was still no excuse for their behaviour.

Rule admitted: 'It is unacceptable in the modern era for fans to go on to the pitch. This is not a time for knee-jerk reactions and much of it was to do with genuine passion and excitement because the derby had passed without a problem.

'But any Hull fan found to have caused trouble will be banned from the KC stadium for life and we would expect Rovers to do the same.'

The RFL may well launch their own inquiry after asking match commissioner Gerry Kershaw for his observations.

The ugly scenes overshadowed a game of fierce intensity and a crucial and deserved win for Hull. Their coach Peter Sharp, who was in the dressing room congratulating his players when the trouble erupted, said: 'I didn't see what happened. I am just relieved we got the two points. 'It was a tough, emotional game but I felt we dominated it and could have won by more points. I hope it kick-starts our bid for the play-offs.'

Sharp must have torn into his team when they trailed 14-12 at the break after squandering some glorious opportunities. They came back out to punish a succession of errors by Rovers with three tries in the first 12 minutes. That was where the game was won and lost as Rovers seemed to run out of gas.

Rovers lost forward Chris Chester with a broken finger after five minutes, while Stanley Gene, Ben Fisher and Scott Murrell were also in the wars. But downcast coach Justin Morgan was in no mood to sympathise after a sixth successive home defeat.

He said: 'We lost it at the start of the second half when we spilled too much ball and didn't seem to want to stay in the arm-wrestle. What disappoints me is that the game was there for us but we didn't get any calls, either.'

Morgan was particularly aggrieved that referee Ben Thaler, who had done well to keep the lid on a derby which had threatened to boil over in the opening quarter, denied James Webster a late try for a forward pass.

That would have set up a grandstand finish but would have been more than Rovers deserved. Morgan had sprung a surprise by dropping former Hull playmaker Paul Cooke to the bench and starting the game with a half-back partnership of Murrell and Webster. Cooke came on at loose forward after 20 minutes.

He helped Rovers overturn a 12-4 deficit with tries from David Tangata-Toa and Mark O'Neill after Craig Hall and the outstanding Danny Tickle had scored earlier for Hull. Then came the second-half Hull blitz, with Scott Wheeldon, Willie Manu and Yeaman crossing for the tries that effectively took the game beyond Rovers.

Matthew Head, Hull's new scrum half from St George-Illawarra, did not reappear after the interval. Sharp said: 'He damaged his shoulder and could have come back at a pinch but he also tried to do a bit too much.'

Rhys Lovegrove, also making his debut, struggled to make an impression at centre for Rovers until he came up with an opportunist try at the end of the third quarter. But by then it was too late, and the first derby to be held at Craven Park for a decade will be remembered for the wrong reasons.