Beaten but Wids’ fine progress there to see
BROUGHTON PARK ................................ 37 WIDNES....................................................... 8 IDNES may have lost this rearranged South Lancashire/ Cheshire One fixture at Houghend, but they can still take great pride from their performance against probably the best side in the division and favourites for promotion.
And, although they were second best in this one, Lee McDermott’s young side never once took a backward step or rolled over against a side who have been in peerless form this season.
The result extends Park’s lead at the top to six points ahead of Liverpool St Helens, whilst Widnes remain unchanged in eighth behind Leigh and Tyldesley with a game in hand.
Conditions for the game last Saturday afternoon were almost perfect for rugby with plenty of bright sunshine, although there was a freezing cold wind blowing across the pitch.
Widnes got the game underway, but it was Park who had first chance as outstanding full-back Andrew Telford cut through from deep only for the chance to be missed.
As the early stages of the game progressed, the Park forwards began to dominate, and after being held up over the line, the Wids’ defensive unit finally cracked as Chris O’Donnell crashed over for the game’s opening try.
Helped by a series of penalties, Widnes then had an attacking spell close to the Park line, but they were unable to breach an impenetrable wall of defenders wearing black-and-white.
Ultimately, that would cost them dearly just a few moments later, as Park broke free for Telford to feed wing man Luke Boon who scored to double his side’s advantage.
After 28 minutes, the Widnes rearguard was breached again, this time as full-back Telford was finally rewarded with his team’s third try along with a 15-0 advantage.
With Park seemingly in the ascend-
W● ency now, they then missed another try scoring opportunity, before Number 8 Joe Noone put things right as he picked up from the base of a scrum close to the Widnes line to score the bonus point try.
With moments to go, Andy Owens then launched a fine individual counterattack from distance before hacking the ball downfield which was not dealt with effectively by the Park defence allowing Josh Paton to follow up and touch down for his first try in senior colours. The try was unconverted.
If the visitors had ambitions to claw back the deficit and rescue something from the game, then they needed to start the second half well, and they did just that as Owens converted a long range penalty to make the score 20-8.
For a while then, their new found enthusiasm saw them really pile on the pressure, but Park were soon able to regather their thoughts before making their way up field to add another try after taking a scrum against the head deep in Widnes territory.
From there, there was going to be no way back for the Red-and-Blacks, and by the hour mark, the score had been increased to a wider margin of 32-8 thanks to another home score.
After that, and with the result assured, the latter part of the game was all a bit scrappy although there was still time for stand-off Josh Hodkinson to weave and sidestep his way over the line for the game’s final score of the afternoon.
With the clock running down, Kieron Arndell made a long-range break for the visitors, but this was quickly offset by a Widnes player beyond the touchline spending a spell in the sin-bin late on.
Overall, though the game was lost, the Widnes coaching staff can be nothing other than delighted with the performance and progress of their team.
They have continued to put their faith in the new young breed through the likes of Jamie Patient and Tom O’Neill who were both outstanding in the game along with other youngsters Andy Owens, Matty Walker and now more latterly Will Patient who was making his debut from the bench after stepping up from the Colts. ● Widnes are hoping that their outstanding Lancashire Plate semi-final at De La Salle will be played on Saturday, March 17, whilst the re-arranged home league game with Anselmians will now take place on Saturday, March 31. Both games will kick off at 3pm. ● Another tough game awaits Lee McDermott’s squad this Saturday when they make a further trip to South Manchester to take on Bowdon at Clay Lane.
Bowdon have had something of a mixed time of it this season and currently lie in fifth place with 12 wins and six defeats from their 18 league games so far.
In the last encounter between the pair, Bowdon edged it by 19-10 so Widnes will be on something of a revenge mission this time around. The game kicks-off at 3pm.