WIDNES VIKINGS 32 HUNSLET 26
JAMES GORDON, DCBL Stadium, Sunday

WIDNES recorded their fifth successive Championship victory, but were made to work hard for it.

Hunslet were bolstered by four loanees from Super League sides and one of those, Leeds’ Ben Littlewood, opened the scoring on nine minutes, easing through from ten metres out off a Lee Gaskell pass.

It took the Vikings a while to get going, Jordan Johnstone scoring their first try on 20 minutes and they went back to back courtesy of a clever supporting run by Max Roberts. Jordan Abdull converted the first.

At 10-4, Widnes lost the ball on an attacking scrum ten metres out and it was scooped up by Mackenzie Turner to find Charlie Graham, who won a race over 80 metres to bring Hunslet back within two points.

Unfortunately for his side, they knocked on in-goal from the subsequent kick-off and were immediately punished as Tom Gilmore and Nathan Connell linked up to put Ryan Ince over at the right corner.

Hunslet hit back through Harvey Hallas, Billy Jowitt’s conversion levelling the score at 14-14, but once again the visitors conceded a drop-out from the kick-off and from it Widnes punished them again, Junior Sambou bouncing off a tackler to set up Connell in the left corner.

Six minutes into the second half, Hunslet hit the front with Myles-Dalton Harrop getting a hand out to catch Gaskell’s chip to the line, with Jowitt’s goal making it 20-18.

They thought they had stretched that lead on 55, when Dan Abram snared an interception off Abdull and went 90 metres, only to be pulled back due to a Hunslet hand knocking on in the build-up.

That disappointment was doubled when Widnes scored off that field position, Connell sliding through off an Abdull pass, though Widnes again failed to make the extras, so only led by two.

Jowitt opted to go for goal from 45 metres out on the hour, but missed, before Hunslet had a second try ruled out, for a forward pass by Bureta Faraimo after he and Harrop broke away from halfway down the left.

Just as they had after the first disallowed try, Widnes dealt a sucker punch to Hunslet, scoring a try of their own as Connell pierced through on the left and found Roberts backing up in support for his second try.

Widnes missed their fifth of six conversion attempts to keep it at a one-score game, and Hunslet were given hope when Jay Chapelhow was sinbinned for dissent on 68 minutes following a disallowed try of his own (he was adjudged to have knocked on trying to put the ball down).

But crucially, barely a minute later, Connell and Sambou managed to burst through on the left to find Mike Butt and with Gilmore’s goal, Widnes opened up a twelve-point lead that was too much for the visitors.

Graham managed to dribble through and ground his own kick before the dead-ball line with five minutes to play, Jowitt adding the two, but after Jack Owens’ tackle shut down Gaskell on the last tackle on 77 minutes, Hunslet didn’t threaten again.

GAMESTAR: Nathan Connell’s running and evasiveness got Widnes points at crucial times.

GAMEBREAKER: Mike Butt’s try right at the start of the Vikings’ ten-minute spell with twelve men was key.

MATCHFACTS

VIKINGS
23 Nathan Connell
2 Mike Butt
29 Jumah Sambou
1 Matty Fleming
5 Ryan Ince
22 Jordan Abdull
7 Tom Gilmore
8 Dan Murray
14 Matty Fozard
21 Jay Chapelhow
12 Max Roberts
16 Danny Langtree
9 Jordan Johnstone
Subs (all used)
3 Jack Owens
15 Lewis Hall
19 Adam Lawton
20 Jack Bibby

Tries: Johnstone (20), Roberts (23, 65), Ince (31), Connell (39, 56), Butt (70)
Goals: Abdull 1/5, Gilmore 1/2
Sin bin: Chapelhow (68) – dissent

HUNSLET
1 Billy Jowitt
21 Mackenzie Turner
41 Charlie Graham
3 Myles Dalton-Harrop
– Bureta Faraimo
6 Lee Gaskell
7 Dan Abram
43 Matty Laidlaw
19 Mason Corbett
13 Eddie Battye
11 Harrison Gilmore
42 Ben Littlewood
24 Presley Cassell
Subs (all used)
14 Cameron Berry
8 Harvey Hallas
10 Thomas Nicholson-Watton
15 Emmerson Whittel

Tries: Littlewood (9), Graham (28, 75), Hallas (36), Harrop (46)
Goals: Jowitt 3/6

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 6-4, 10-4, 10-8, 14-8, 14-14, 18-14; 18-20, 22-20, 26-20, 32-20, 32-26

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Vikings: Nathan Connell; Hunslet: Charlie Graham

Penalty count: 4-3
Half-time: 18-14
Referee: Tara Jones
Attendance: 2,223