Superb Widnes seconds put an end to Altrincham’s unbeaten mark
Altrincham Kersal II 12
Widnes II 15 WIDNES’S second XV returned to winning ways with a much-improved performance to defeat the previously unbeaten Altrincham Kersal second string in Division Two South last Saturday.
Kersal were yet to lose a game this season having won eight from eight in the league and also progressed in the cup.
However, a Widnes side welcoming back a number of key personnel were too good on the day.
Widnes were on the scoreboard inside the first minute of the game.
A Kersal mistake from the kick-off led to a Widnes lineout, which Chris Hall would win.
Matty Walker was given time and space to find Eddie McAdam who charged onto a pass to go straight through the opposition centres and race 30 yards to score under the posts. Captain Josh Paton added the extra two to give Widnes the perfect start.
Widnes remained in control of the game until the 20 minute mark. It was the away side who invited Kersal back into the contest as a penalty did not find touch. A number of penalties allowed them into the Wids’ 22 and the pressure told as Kersal rumbled over from close-range.
However, Widnes regained control and were moving the ball well from left to right as Joe Purcell and Simon Buckle found space on the flank but they could not find a final pass to wing Josh Argent.
It was forward Adam Watson who finally found the wing after some extended pressure, Argent managing to squeeze in at the corner for an unconverted try and Widnes went into the interval holding a 12-5 lead.
The second period remained evenly matched for the opening 20 minutes. A Paton penalty extended the Widnes lead to 10 points.
However, a series of injuries to Clive Winstanley and then Jordan Ecclestone and Ste Curphey in the same play left Widnes scrambling.
It got worse for the away side as McAdam and then Watson both saw yellow and Kersal scored against the 13 of Widnes to make it a threepoint game.
A frantic last few minutes saw Widnes eventually hold on to claim a memorable and much-needed victory.
Speaking after the game, Widnes’s second-team head coach, Dan Newall, said: “I am made up for the lads today.
“That performance has been coming now for a couple of weeks. The effort was something special today, the boys put everything into it and deserved the win.
“We played some really good stuff at times and moved the ball well, and we were unlucky not to score two or three times in the first half.
“It is good we are creating chances – we just need to take them. We were really poor last week at the breakdown and turned over far too much ball but we spoke about that before the game and it was much better today.
“Defensively we were outstanding again. We just need to stop giving away silly penalties and letting teams back into games when we are in control.
“Having a strong first-team is massive for the other two teams. Today is the first game all season we were able to actually have a selection headache.
“Competition for places is massive, we had a great week at training and it showed today.
“We have picked up a few injuries so it is crucial we have as many available again for next week for Whitchurch at home. We need to back up today’s win with another next week.”