Widnes 10-19 Warrington: Wolves claim derby win

Match stats: Widnes 10-19 Warrington

Widnes Vikings
Tries:  Marsh (2), Runciman (59)
Conversions: Bridge (59)

Warrington Wolves
Tries: Lineham (8), Hughes (14), Philbin (35)
Conversions/penalties: Patton (14, 35, 77)
Drop goal: Patton 38

Match report

A dominant first-half display from Warrington ensured they stayed above derby rivals Widnes in the Betfred Super League basement battle.

The pressure was on both sides and both coaches, Denis Betts and Tony Smith, after the two teams had only registered three points from their previous eight fixtures.

However, it was Warrington boss Smith who was much the happier afterwards with his side holding on for a 19-10 victory after bossing much of the opening period.

Widnes made an electric start with Stefan Marsh sprinting over in the corner after only four minutes of play after the Wolves had coughed up the ball on their 30-metre line.

The conversion was missed by Chris Bridge, though, and that was as good as it got for the Vikings in the first period as Warrington sprang into shape.

Three unanswered tries soon followed. 

The first came down the Vikings' left-hand side as the impressive Stefan Ratchford created a neat opening for powerful winger Tom Lineham (pictured) to squeeze over in the corner.

The traffic came careering down the same flank five minutes later, yielding another Warrington four pointer as Kurt Gidley's short ball to the on-rushing Jack Hughes put the Wolves in front and in charge.

Young half-back Declan Patton knocked over the conversion to inch the visitors ahead before being in the thick of it himself in a series of video referee calls as Warrington turned the screw on shellshocked Widnes.

The first video decision came after England man Ratchford delivered a superb pass to centre Ryan Atkins who looked like he had scored, but the try was ruled out for a double movement.

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The officials were involved a minute later as Joe Philbin charged over the whitewash. The Vikings felt the burly back-rower had planted the ball short, but television footage showed the ball had hit the line and the try was given.

Patton, who showed no signs of nervousness stepping in for star signing and ex-Widnes skipper Kevin Brown - who was ruled out with concussion, added the extras before almost scoring a try of his own after a chip and chase.

However, Widnes' Bridge had just done enough to connect his left boot to the ball as Patton tried to put his finger tips on it.

The Warrington scrum-half continued to be a threat, however, and he hit a clever one-pointer just before the break to give Smith's side a decent buffer.

The Vikings plugged away and were never out of the contest as the returning Joe Mellor started to click with full-back Rhys Hanbury, and a product of those efforts came with 20 minutes left when Charly Runciman touched down.

Widnes threw the ball to Hanbury who put a well-weighted grubber through Warrington's defensive line, which Runciman got on the end of.

Bridge's goal put the Vikings seven points adrift and they had opportunities to get even closer but fluffed their lines in good positions.

The hosts dominated the final quarter but could not find the killer pass to put them within touching distance, and Patton had the final say with a 77th-minute penalty goal which was enough for the two points. 

Match reaction

Warrington boss Tony Smith heaped praise on his young side: "That was a real gutsy one and I thought we handled the pressure well. I'm not only missing a few players, in (Daryl) Clark, Westerman, Brown and (Mike) Cooper, but we ended up losing a couple on the field as well, as Matty Russell and Ryan Atkins left the field and are both out for Monday's game.

"We are down on troops but the good news story is the young blokes who came in did a good job. Philbin was terrific and some of our young forwards did a good job for us. Julien, for him to come in without much game time and play the way he did was really good.

"George King also came in and did a great job. They all played their role and did what they had to do today. There were six times that we turned the ball over on first or second tackle and we cant do that - it's too much.

"The players really dug in for one another. I love seeing them cover for one another and not cave in. It shows the spirit of the team.

"We didn't have the big names but we got down and dirty. It wasn't a pretty game but we made it hard for Widnes." 

Widnes head coach Denis Betts sees some signs that his team can improve: "Overall it's a win and loss game and tonight I've seen some things to say that we've got some wins in us. Confidence wise, you live off it and you die in fear. We are dying in fear at the moment. (In the) second half we showed some positives, though."

On some of the refereeing decisons: "It was a messy game. I was disappointed with a few calls but we are not getting the rub of the green. There's things not going our way, but overall we need to stick to it."I wasn't sure what some of the penalties were for."