Hull were able to strengthen their play-off hopes courtesy of a polished 20-8 win over Harlequins at the KC Stadium on Friday evening.

The Black and Whites fully deserved the points too, as they displayed fine patience and resilience to overturn an eight-point deficit in the first half, before Richard Horne's superb 57th-minute try effectively won them the game.

The scrum-half has often been a lost figure in Hull's engine room this season, especially without long-term partner Paul Cooke, but his try and overall performance suggested he is regaining the form that saw him achieve Great Britain honours last autumn.

Other positives for home coach Peter Sharp - who lost Garreth Carvell to injury late in the afternoon - included the 40-minute showing of debutant 18-year-old hooker Danny Houghton and the ever impressive Danny Tickle who kicked 10 points.

While Harlequins still occupy a play-off spot and hold a two-point lead over seventh-placed Hull, coach Brian McDermott may well be concerned at the way his side failed to build on Tyrone Smith's 12th-minute opener.

The home side, who paraded retiring duo Richard Swain and Sid Domic prior to the kick-off, could have taken a third-minute lead through Horne.

Chasing down his own kick ahead, Horne went up against Mark McLinden in a race to the line, only for referee Ashley Klein to award possession in favour of the visitors despite the latter appearing to spill the ball.

The visitors drew first blood when Smith made light work of fending off the defence of Craig Hall to slip over the line in the corner. The Quins had gained possession after Thomas Lee knocked on under no apparent pressure, highlighting how wet conditions were.

As a result, the home side adopted a safety-first policy to send themselves in level at the break.

After Paul Sykes had converted Smith's try from the touchline and then added a penalty, Tickle added four penalties of his own as Hull began to dominate.

All four of his shots at goal came from 20 metres out and straight in front while Sharp was justified in calling for the kick at goal to be selected as with every shot, Harlequins were forced to back-up in defence, which on a heavy pitch visibly used a lot of their energy.

The fourth penalty came after Houghton led his side forward with a maturity that belied his years although the situation could have changed had Jon Wells clung on to Scott Hill's low pass as the clock ticked down.

The visitors could have started the second half as they began the first but Gareth Raynor atoned for his error in handing possession to Ricky Sheriffe by tracking down the advancing winger and hauling him to ground.

Willie Manu illustrated the tiring legs in the Quins' defence by punching several holes before Horne's try.

Lee's bullet pass sent Hall racing clear and, after sending the ball on to Sing, Hall was able to convert from under the posts as Sing ably sent Horne crashing over the line.

Hall then poached a try of his own after intercepting Hill's pass and although Harlequins responded with four successive sets of possession and then a further three, Hull's defence stood firm to maintain their 12-point cushion.

Horne could have created a third try late on after Tickle had hacked a loose ball ahead, only for the former to spill an attempted offload.