Huddersfield coach Paul Anderson: Win was all that mattered against Leeds

Huddersfield coach Paul Anderson is urging his side to maintain their ascent after climbing off the bottom of Super League with a 28-20 win over Leeds.

The Giants held their nerve in a seesaw encounter, scoring two tries in the last seven minutes through Jake Connor and Eorl Crabtree to secure a second successive home win.

"The win is the all important thing," Anderson said. "Of the last three games, we've won two so we're starting the ascent and hopefully we can keep it going.

"It was a real scrappy game but I couldn't care less, we found a way to win whereas in the past we would have lost.

"There were some really pleasing things. I thought defensively we were pretty good and we came home strong.

"I'm really pleased with our resolve and composure. We're still coming up with errors but not as many."

England winger Jermaine McGillvary got Huddersfield's man-of-the-match award after scoring his 11th try of the season and Anderson was also delighted with the display of centre Aaron Murphy.

"Jerry's a great player, a stand-out player in Super League, and I thought the way Aaron Murphy handled Kallum Watkins was world class as well."

As well as gaining two precious points, Huddersfield will have gained a psychological advantage ahead of their meeting with Leeds in next Friday's Ladbrokes Challenge Cup sixth-round tie at the John Smith's Stadium.

"Next week is totally different," Anderson said. "The Challenge Cup is probably a welcome distraction for us."

Leeds coach Brian McDermott is hoping to have at least three of his nine injured senior players back for that match but was delighted with the way his under-strength side defended and battled to the end.

The Rhinos conceded a soft try to second rower Ukuma Ta'ai after only four minutes but hit back three times to take the lead thanks to tries from impressive scrum-half Jordan Lilley, inspirational skipper Rob Burrow and substitute Josh Walters.

"It's a tough one to lose," said McDermott. "We had some really good moments near our line and probably broke the record for trysavers. There are some really encouraging signs.

"In the end some of the bump and dump from Huddersfield, their quick play-the-balls, got us."

McDermott gave a debut to 17-year-old forward Cameron Smith, who became the sixth youngest player to make his Super League bow for them, while 19-year-old Lilley continued his impressive run in the side.

"He's learning his trade in a tough environment," said McDermott, who also had praise for the way full-back Ashton Golding - deputising for the injured Zak Hardaker - handled a series of towering kicks from Huddersfield's master tactician Danny Brough.

"I'm not sure who could have taken those kicks from Broughy," McDermott said. "Fo r him to have some scary moments and then show some steel, shows some character."