ST HELENS boss Paul Wellens was left to rue an ever-worsening injury crisis as his side’s Challenge Cup hopes were dashed with a 20-12 defeat at Warrington Wolves.
Mark Percival and Jake Wingfield both failed HIAs in the first half at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, leading to a re-jig which left numerous square pegs in round holes.
The sides headed in level at 6-6 at the break after Tristan Sailor’s try cancelled out Matt Dufty’s opener, with a Marc Sneyd penalty and a George Williams try ultimately proving the difference.
Post-match, Wellens said: “I’m really proud of the players and the way they handled the disruption, but the overriding emotion is obviously the disappointment of not making it through to the semis.
“We had two second-rowers playing centre and a middle unit in the back-row, and I thought for the majority of the game, we handled the adversity really well.”
Beaten finalists in the Challenge Cup last year, Sunday’s win sees Warrington move on to the semi-finals, where they will meet Leigh Leopards.
But with just over a month until the semis come around, boss Sam Burgess was quick to play down any excitement over the potential for a first honour since 2019.
He said: “It’s one of the bits of silverware that’s up for grabs, but there’s 80 minutes before we get there (to Wembley) and the semis are in five weeks, so we’ve got to try to put the cup to bed until then.
“I thought it was a tough game today, and I thought we turned up for each other when we needed to. It was a good contest.
“Your mind plays tricks on you because you’re in a semi and you want to get to the final, but there’s some big games in front of us before then.”