Vikings so close
● probably entitled to feel a little hard done by and he praised the efforts of youngsters Danny Walker and Olly Ashall-Bott.
He said: “It all came down to a drop-goal and we always stayed in the fight.
“What you saw today was a side with a lot of character and determination who did some really good things.
“We got some tough calls along the way as well.
“On their last try there was an offside from the kick and a forward pass in it.
“We just expect a little bit of consistency from the referee on those things.
“I also thought there was a penalty in the last minute when Joe Mellor got a smack across the head but it would have taken a big call from the referee.
“It was a tough game on a really tough surface for both teams.
“Danny Walker wasn’t even meant to be in the team but he got pulled in at the last minute.
“For him to come here and put in the 80-minute performance he did is a great testament to how prepared he is.
“Olly couldn’t do what he usually does and use his footwork to get away from people because the pitch wouldn’t allow him to do that.
“But I was pleased with his commitment and effort and he’ll play again on Friday night against Warrington.
“Overall, we did some things today we can be proud of but we have to be disappointed we didn’t get the win we were after.”
The Vikings’ pre-match plans were disrupted by the late cryoffs due to illness of dummy-half duo Lloyd White and Aaron Heremaia which led to late call-ups for Walker and second-rower Sam Wilde.
And the kick-off did not exactly going according to plan either with an in-goal fumble forcing Widnes into a goalline drop-out.
At this point things took a turn for the unusual with the Vikings, perhaps wary of the elements in