Vikings do suffer a Hull of a collapse
Thursday, May 11, 2006 THE Weekly News reported that David Peachey had been axed after the Aussie star rushed home to visit his sick stepfather.
Vikings chairman Stephen Vaughan commented: “We had given him compassionate leave but the only thing I am interested in is Widnes Vikings.
“We understand his position but I want David Peachey on the field. No one player is bigger than the club.”
The full-back had made only nine appearances in a Widnes shirt. ● WIDNES VIKINGS: On This Day is available now at £9.99 from the Vikings Superstore. WIDNES VIKINGS ............................................ 22 HULL FC ............................................................. 33
FOR 39 minutes it looked like Widnes were on their way to a morale-boosting win over high-flying Hull FC at the Select Security Stadium on Sunday.
The Vikings thoroughly outplayed their opponents in the early stages of the match to rack up a 22-0 lead.
But a try to the visitors just before half-time seemed to turn the match on its head with Lee Radford’s men overhauling the deficit to eventually win 33-22.
It was very much a case of what might have been for Widnes coach Denis Betts.
He said: “It was a tale of two halves. If we got points for winning halves then we’d be in a lot better position.
“It was the best 40 minutes of the year for us but then we stopped doing everything. Our shape dropped and our talk dropped off.
“We had a great lead and energy but then didn’t turn up in the second half.
“They’ve got some good players and we let them back in. Jamie Shaul, Albert Kelly, Marc Sneyd and Carlos Tuimavave – we were chasing shadows.
“We’re searching for that consistency over 80 minutes. We are failing to put two halves together.”
Widnes were bolstered by the return of fullback Rhys Hanbury, centre Chris Bridge and hooker Aaron Heremaia. However, Bridge’s afternoon lasted less than two minutes after he was dumped in a tackle and had to leave the field with concussion.
Still, it didn’t stop the Vikings opening the scoring when Hep Cahill and Gil Dudson combined to send second-rower Chris Houston powering over to make it 4-0.
Widnes soon added a further six points to their score when Matt Whitley’s midfield offload sent Rhys Hanbury scorching clear and he held off opposite number Shaul on a 50-metre run to the corner with Tom Gilmore adding the extras.
Despite being on top on the scoreboard, Widnes were making their share of handling errors but they showed some real character with their goalline defence to keep Hull out.
When play returned to the other end of the field, the Vikings capitalised on a spell of pressure as winger Patrick Ah Van finished a handling move wide on the left.
With just three minutes of the half remaining, Widnes opened up a 22-0 lead when Ah Van notched his second score after first juggling and then catching a cross-kick. ●
Just when it looked like the Airlie Birds were going to draw a first half blank, they pulled four points back courtesy of a Jansin Turgut touchdown. It was a sign of things to come. And the indications there was a comeback in the air increased in the first minute of the second half when Shaul crossed for a sixpointer after backing-up a Josh Griffin break.
Suddenly it was all Hull and following two more near-misses they were in again on 58 minutes when Shaul’s break was backed up by centre Tuimavave to make it 22-16.
Stand-off Kelly was proving to be a real thorn in the side of the Vikings and he scored a superb solo try to bring his side level, racing 70 metres to the posts.
Widnes just could not get their hands on the ball and having to constantly defend was clearly taking its toll on their energy levels.
It came as no surprise when Shaul ducked under a couple of tired-looking tackles and raced away to give his side a 28-22 lead.
When Marc Sneyd dropped a goal to increase the margin to seven points with 10 minutes to go, the game was effectively up.
The Vikings engineered a couple of half chances for Ah Van but even he couldn’t force his way over through the massed ranks of Hull defenders.
In the end it was the visitors who had the last word with a late try from back-rower Danny Washbrook.