Hull FC's winning run came to a halt in the south of France as Catalan Dragons edged a scrappy game 20-16
Hull fought back to come close to what had looked an unlikely comeback at one stage, but couldn't find a final telling blow as they slipped to defeat.
Hull were forced into three changes with Danny Houghton not making the trip following the birth of his son, while Liam Watts was also absent after losing his passport. Teenage winger Callum Lancaster made up the missing trio after sustaining a minor groin injury in Hull's last training session before leaving for France.
In came Dean Hadley and Tom Lineham, the latter playing for the first time since round four against Bradford, while Aaron Heremaia was promoted off the bench.
Hull could have done with Lancaster's pace to close down Morgan Escare for the host's first try, with the full-back racing 90 metres to score after a poor Richard Horne kick handed the Dragons a chance to break.
The Black and Whites were further behind when Michael Oldfield touched down Thomas Bosc's perfectly weighted cross field kick. While Gareth Ellis' try looked to have closed the gap with half-time approaching a poor defensive set in the final minute of the half allowed Benjamin Garcia to score under the posts.
Hull needed to start the second half well but dropped further behind as Leon Pryce's break was finished by Daryl Millard. The game looked to be going away from the visitors until two tries in four minutes sparked the Black and Whites into life and opened the door for a comeback.
First Kirk Yeaman scored from great work by Fetuli Talanoa and then Jamie Shaul touched down as Hull cut the gap to four points.
Lee Radford's side continued to press but unforced errors prevented a further try and they slipped to defeat.
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