HALIFAX PANTHERS 10 WIDNES VIKINGS 11
ALFIE INGRAM, The Shay, Sunday

WIDNES secured a hard-earned victory over Halifax, in a close contest that could have easily gone either way and was ultimately decided by a Tom Gilmore field-goal.

In the second minute Adam O’Brien broke the line for Halifax, getting to within five metres of the line before being tackled and the Fax attack petered out.

And it was the Vikings who scored firs when they spread the ball to the left to find Mike Butt in open apace, allowing him to score in the corner for an unconverted try.

The two sides were clearly evenly matched early as the game went on. Both had some half-chances, but a mix of errors in attacking positions alongside good defence prevented any more points being scored in the first half.

In the 25th minute, the Panthers won a penalty following a high shot. Darius Carter then nearly found his way over the line but he was held up by the Widnes defence, while winning another penalty in the process.

Widnes defended the following set well, and Dan Murray managed to force a knock-on to win back possession.

Following a stoppage in play after a Max Banditt head injury, the Vikings had a decent opportunity close to the line, as Gilmore aimed a tricky grubber just ahead of the Widnes defenders but Halifax again kept them out.

The Panthers looked to counter on the stroke of half-time, but their attacks didn’t provide any serious threat.

As the hooter sounded, Danny Richardson attempted a field-goal for the Vikings, but it went wide, keeping the half-time margin at four points.

Halifax had a scoring opportunity early in the second half as Luckas Sableman-Blue drove forward with a powerful run that took him from halfway to the 25-metre line. He looked like going all the way but ran out of steam and the Widnes defence pulled him down.

But he added his name to the scoresheet minutes later with the Panthers capitalising on some untidy Widnes defending allowing him to score in the left corner. Carter was unable to add the goal, keeping the scores level.

Widnes immediately earned good field position following the kick-off, after Zack McComb knocked on in the corner.

The Panthers defended well, however, and initially kept the Vikings at bay until Murray powered his way through a gap in the defence to score, with Richardson adding the conversion and giving the Vikings a six-point lead.

Ryan Ince nearly added another try for Widnes as they threaded the ball down the right wing, but he was unable to ground the ball in the corner.

With eight minutes remaining, Gilmore landed a field-goal to increase the lead to seven points.

It looked decisive but the Panthers weren’t done yet. And when Ben Forster broke through a gap to score a converted try, the Vikings’ lead was cut to just one point with five minutes remaining. 

The Panthers were now on the front foot, and relentlessly trying to get closer to Widnes’ tryline.

But as the clock ran down the Vikings’ defence held strong, and they secured the win to retain their position in the top six.

GAMESTAR: Dan Murray looked strong both in defence and attack for the Vikings, earning a well-deserved try.

GAMEBREAKER: Tom Gilmore’s 72nd-minute field-goal was the difference.

MATCHFACTS

PANTHERS
3 Ben Will
2 Ben Tibbs
22 Darius Carter
4 Alfie Johnson
24 Luckas Sableman-Blue
6 Jesse Soric
9 Adam O’Brien
33 Delaine Gittens-Bedward
7 Curtis Davies
21 Ben Forster
15 Connor Davies
13 Jacob Fairbank
19 Zack McComb
Subs (all used)
5 Lloyd Roby
8 Will Calcott
18 Jimmy Morgan
29 Riley Thompson

Tries: Sableman-Blue (50), Forster (74)
Goals: Carter 1/2

VIKINGS
23 Nathan Connell
5 Ryan Ince
25 Kieran Taylor
29 Jumah Sambou
2 Mike Butt
17 Danny Richardson
7 Tom Gilmore
8 Dan Murray
9 Jordan Johnstone
21 James Chapelhow
16 Danny Langtree
12 Max Roberts
26 Lewis Hall
Subs (all used)
14 Matty Fozard
19 Adam Lawton
35 Max Banditt
28 Jack Houghton

Tries: Butt (7), Murray (54)
Goals: Richardson 1/2
Field-goals: Gilmore (72)

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4; 4-4, 4-10, 4-11, 10-11

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Panthers: Luckas Sableman-Blue; Vikings: Dan Murray

Penalty count: 4-5
Half-time: 0-4
Referee: Tara Jones
Attendance: 1,588