Widnes Vikings brought the curtain down on their Betfred Championship regular season with a narrow defeat to Sheffield Eagles.
The opening exchanges of the game were very much an even contest, 14 minutes in, Widnes were awarded a penalty, the Vikings opted to kick for two, but Aiden Doolan’s effort ricocheted off the woodwork.
Allan Coleman’s young gun side continued in the arm wrestle, but Sheffield did finally break the deadlock with 25 minutes gone, a kick to the corner was palmed back and picked up by Jack Bussey who crossed for the opening try of the game.
Despite conceding, Widnes weren’t knocked back, and stuck to their task to make sure the game remained a one score affair heading into the break.
Widnes started the second half in a similar style to the first, they were continuing to frustrate the hosts, by forcing errors and scrambling well when required.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Eagles were awarded a repeat set on the last tackle, which they used to move the ball over to Kieran Gill who dived in at the left corner.
Once again, Allan Coleman’s side stuck to their task and managed to keep Sheffield at bay, but with ten minutes to go, Gill crossed for his second try of the afternoon.
With four minutes to go, Widnes were awarded a penalty under the sticks, and opted to take the two points.
On the hooter, young Alfie Lindsey took advantage of a sloppy Sheffield pass and raced three quarters of the length of the field to cross for a very well deserved Vikings try.
A defeat on the scoreboard, but a truly unbelievable effort from every single player in a Widnes shirt.
Teams and scorers
Widnes Vikings: Jenson Windley, Sean Coughlan, Max Rhodes, Alfie Lindsey, Frank Sergent, Ryan Foreshaw, Joe Lyons, Morgan McWhirter, Aiden Doolan, Jack Houghton, Kieran Taylor, Sam Grice, Lewis Hall. Interchanges: Jack Hamer, Layton Jupp, Zak Bennett, Ben Harper, Dec Rigby
Tries: Lindsey
Goals: Lyons x2
Sheffield Eagles: Greg Eden, Joe Brown, Will Oakes, Kieran Gill, Ryan Millar, Kai Morgan, Jordan Abdull, Masi Motongo, Harry Bowes, Martyn Reily, Connor Bower, Alex Foster, George Griffin. Interchanges: Jack Bussey, Reiss Butterworth, Blake Broadbent, Harry Bowes.
Tries: Bussey, Gill x2
