GOOLE VIKINGS 0 WIDNES VIKINGS 52
DAN FOWLER, Victoria Pleasure Grounds, Saturday

WIDNES ended a tumultuous week on a high, triumphing over their fellow Vikings in Goole.

Coming into the game after losses to Oldham last weekend and Doncaster in midweek, bouncing back was a must for Allan Coleman’s men.

They achieved that against a Goole outfit who got into the arm wrestle during the first half – only conceding ten points – but were overpowered in the second.

Widnes broke the deadlock on 13 minutes as the ball was shifted to the right flank, Jack Owens’ flick pass finding its way to Frank Sergent to touch down in the corner.

Goole did have an opportunity to fire back with a couple of sets deep inside the Widnes half. Wily halfback Jack Miller won six more tackles on the last after tripping over Tom Gilmore who was stuck in the ruck, but the hosts couldn’t capitalise as the set ended with Callum Rutland dabbing a kick straight to Matty Fozard.

The introduction of Jack Billington from the bench aided Widnes as the Huddersfield loanee made plenty of metres while his offloading game gave Goole plenty to think about. Eight minutes before the break, Widnes extended their lead as Billington’s latest break and offload found Danny Richardson who then fed Gilmore to go over. Richardson’s conversion put ten points between the sides.

The half-time scoreline could have looked even better for the visitors when Richardson looked odds-on to score but decided to offload instead, before Sergent had a second try denied in the latter stages of the first period as the referee brought play back for a forward pass.

Billington’s effect was on full show in the first few minutes of the restart, getting another 15 metres through the Goole defence before being brought down. The subsequent quick play-the-ball put Widnes on the front foot and Adam Lawton crashed over.

Widnes almost went back-to-back as Lawton burst through once more but decided not to pass to the supporting Jack Owens. With numbers to the right, an inside ball was played to Danny Langtree but the second-rower spilled the ball.

The visitors’ fourth try of the afternoon wasn’t far away though. After Richardson was tackled ten metres out, hooker Fozard scampered out of dummy-half and muscled over underneath the sticks. Richardson’s conversion made it 0-20 after 52 minutes.

As the hour mark approached, Widnes continued their purple patch as they attacked with purpose and Goole struggled to deal with the flurry. On the last tackle, Goole envisaged a Gilmore kick but the scrum-half ghosted through instead and passed to the supporting Nathan Connell.

In the final quarter, Owens set the Widnes attack up once more with a break through the middle of the park. A few tackles later, Richardson decided to replicate his halfback partner’s previous move with a quick step through the Goole line and he had enough to touch down. He converted his own try as Widnes got to the 30-point mark.

Widnes showed no mercy in the final minutes as they notched four quick tries to breach the half-century, with Goole forward Jack Smith being sin-binned in the midst of it all. 

Danny Langtree, Max Roberts, Richardson and Mike Butt all crossed in the final eight minutes, Richardson converting two from three and Gilmore sweetly striking the last from the touchline.

GAMESTAR: Jack Billington was in fine form for Widnes, with destructive carries and smart offloads at the heart of his game.

GAMEBREAKER: Matty Fozard’s try on 52 minutes put four scores between the sides, and there was no way back for Goole from then on.

MATCHFACTS

GOOLE
33 Flynn Holden
2 Tom Halliday
1 Josh Guzdek
18 Connor Barley
36 Declan Murphy
6 Mackenzie Harman
7 Jack Miller
25 Brad Bullock
22 Callum Rutland
10 Tyler Craig
3 Cooper Howlett
47 Frankie Dearlove
12 Nick Staveley
Subs (all used)
4 Keenen Tomlinson
5 Callum Shaw
27 Leroy Ncube
45 Jack Smith

Sin bin: Smith (80) – dangerous tackle

WIDNES
23 Nathan Connell
2 Mike Butt
12 Max Roberts
3 Jack Owens
24 Frank Sergent
17 Danny Richardson
7 Tom Gilmore
8 Dan Murray
14 Matty Fozard
10 Liam Bent
19 Adam Lawton
16 Danny Langtree
13 Nick Gregson
Subs (all used)
9 Jordan Johnstone
15 Lewis Hall
18 Morgan McWhirter
20 Jack Billington

Tries: Sergent (13), Gilmore (32), Lawton (44), Fozard (52), Connell (57), Richardson (63, 78), Langtree (72), Roberts (75), Butt (80)
Goals: Richardson 5/9, Gilmore 1/1

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10; 0-14, 0-20, 0-24, 0-30, 0-36, 0-40, 0-46, 0-52

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Goole: Frankie Dearlove; Widnes: Jack Billington

Penalty count: 4-12
Half-time: 0-10
Referee: Aaryn Belafonte