Lack of cool heads is pivotal in Wids’ loss
SEFTON ..................................................... 30 WIDNES..................................................... 26
THERE was no walk in the park for Widnes as they went down to a third successive league defeat at the hands of their local derby rivals at Thornhead Lane last Saturday.
They made a dreadful start, conceding 14 points inside the opening few minutes before re-grouping to take the lead midway through the second half.
It was, however, their ill-discipline, general errors and inability to manage and see out a tight game that would finally come back to haunt Widnes.
Their only reward – if there is such a thing in defeat – were the two bonus points they picked up as a result of scoring four tries and losing by less than seven.
For Sefton, though, none of this will have bothered them one jot. In the end, they proved to be solid, determined and worthy victors as they secured what was their third win on the bounce against the men from Heath Road.
The Widnes errors began right from the start as they knocked-on from the kick-off.
That gave Sefton the early territorial advantage from where star centre Liam Brown scored after previously going close.
More Wids calamity followed as the restart went straight into touch followed up by some poor defence which allowed Brown to score his second try in quick succession.
If that was not bad enough, by this time Widnes had already lost Jamie Patient through injury to be replaced by Matty Walker on the wing.
The visitors eventually got their own show back on the road after 17 minutes, as Tom O’Neill showed both strength and determination to get over the line for a try with Andy Owens adding the conversion.
Once again, though, Widnes made a mess of the restart knocking-on close to their own line and then conceding a penalty which John Fenton converted to make the score 17-7.
Next, Josh Paton was then forced to come to the Wids rescue and take evasive action and deal with a dangerous kick ahead as Sefton threatened to score once again.
Defending close to their own line, Gavin Hatton then made a super clear- ● ing run before the ball was spread out wide and recycled to eventually get Matty Walker in at the corner for a great Widnes try.
Not to be outdone, and with the clock ticking down, Sefton were to have the final say at the end of the half, crossing for another converted try which would send them in at the break leading by 24-12.
With the coaches’ words ringing in their ears, the visitors began the second half in much more determined fashion.
Helped along by a couple of penalties, they got themselves to within range of the Sefton tryline which allowed scrumhalf Hatton to dummy his way over for a fine solo effort which was converted by Kevin Leadbetter.
With the deficit now just five points, it was looking like a different game, although it should have been Sefton who scored next as they bombed a clear cut opportunity on the far side.
Instead, it was the Wids who then went onto the offensive which ended in a well timed cross-kick from Josh Kenyon being collected on the full by Andy Owens who touched down for a try which Kevin Leadbetter then converted to give his side the lead for the first time in the match.
After struggling for so long to get a foothold back into the contest, Widnes now needed some cool heads and a steady, disciplined approach for the remainder of the game if they had ambitions to go on and claim the spoils.
Instead, their inability to do just that gave Sefton a real chance of regaining the initiative they had previously held for much of the game.
That opportunity came with 12 minutes left when Widnes were penalised before then being marched back a further 10 metres for some ill-timed backchat to the referee which made the kick at goal a whole load easier. ●
The trusty boot of full-back John Fenton then did the rest and put his side in front again, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
Despite that, Widnes still had opportunities and they were unlucky perhaps to see Paton hauled back for a forward pass as he broke clear up the Main Stand touchline.
After that, there were to be no more opportunities for the visitors to play their ‘get out of jail’ card, before Sefton were again able to make their way downfield and wrapped things up with another late penalty which rounded off the scoring and complete a job well done for the home side.
Afterwards, a disappointed Widnes head coach, Lee McDermott, said: “It was a great effort by us to get back into the game and claim two points, but it was the mistakes and ill-discipline which cost us the win.” ● In the other senior games, both the seconds and thirds came away with victories. The seconds beat Whitchurch 20-7 in Division Two South (see report on page 53) whilst the thirds just got the better of Wirral 20-19 in a thriller at the Memorial Ground. ● Although it is cup weekend in the calendar, Widnes have a week off this Saturday because the Aspull versus De La Salle Lancashire Plate quarter-final tie has not yet been played.
The fortnight’s break, though, will come as a welcome distraction and give the players and the coaching staff a real opportunity to work hard on the training paddock, rest up those niggling injuries, and generally refresh their batteries in preparation for the final four league games – all of which have now gained added significance – in the run-up to the Christmas and New Year break.