UNDER-18S

The Widnes Wild Academy Under-18s Team played their first ever game away to the Manchester Storm Under-18s on Saturday, September 14, coming home on the wrong end of a 13-2 defeat.

This is the first season for the new Wild Under-18s team and, as such, the players have all come together from a variety of different backgrounds.

Several players moved up from last season’s Wild Under-15 team, others have switched to Widnes from other clubs and several players were playing their first ever competitive game.

It is bound to take time for the players to gel into a single unit and this debut season will be looked upon as one of player development and team building.

Manchester took the lead in the fifth minute and were 4-0 up by the time Wild captain and former Storm junior Sam Anderson scored for Widnes on 16 minutes.

A fight-back at that stage looked highly possible but then a disastrous spell in the last minute of the first period saw Manchester hit three unanswered goals within 40 seconds of each other, to leave the Wild trailing 1-7 at the first break.

Storm edged further ahead on 26 minutes and a second strike for Anderson reduced the deficit slightly 20 seconds later but the result was never in much doubt from there on and Manchester scored five more unanswered goals to take the win.

The Wild Under-18s play their first ever home game this Saturday, September 21, against Solihull Under-18s at Planet Ice Widnes.

Face Off is 7.45 p.m. and admission is free.