Widnes Vikings were beaten 32-12 by Dewsbury Rams in Round 4 of the Betfred Challenge Cup.
The Vikings were outscored by five tries to two on a difficult afternoon at FLAIR Stadium.
Matty Fozard had opened the scoring midway through the first half, and Adam Lawton posted the first points of the second half to make it 12-12 at that stage.
However, three unanswered tries, plus a Paul Sykes penalty goal, meant it would be the Rams who booked a trip to London Broncos in the next round of the competition.
Team news
John Kear was forced into a reshuffle of the backline as Danny Craven missed out through suspension.
Captain Jack Owens moved into the halves alongside Joe Lyons, with Matt Fleming moving to full-back and Sam Wilde slotting in at centre.
Ant Walker, Adam Lawton and Liam Bent also came into the starting line-up, with Owen Farnworth and Ollie Brookes returning to the matchday squad as both were named on the bench.
Story of the game
After a cagey, set-for-set opening, it was the Vikings who posted first points with 18 minutes on the clock.
It came straight from a scrum play, with Matty Fozard darting left and dummying his way through the Rams’ defensive line to touch down.
The home side grew into the game, and less than 10 minutes later, they crossed in the corner as Paul Sykes sent a looping cut-out pass over the top for Lewis Carr, who touch down in the right corner.
The Vikings responded well, and they edged two points ahead seven minutes before the half-time break as Jack Owens kicked a penalty goal following an offside call against Dewsbury near the posts.
It would be the Rams who had the final say in the first half though, as Reiss Butterworth burrowed his way over under the posts. Sykes converted to put them 12-8 ahead at the break.
A quick start to the second half saw the Vikings level the contest, and it was a neat shift of play towards the left edge attack which paid dividends as Joe Lyons found Adam Lawton, who broke the line and dummied his way over.
That made it 12-12, but the hosts restored their advantage not long after when Ollie Greensmith ran back inside on the angle and stepped away from two defenders before touching down. Again Sykes was successful from the tee.
Dewsbury extended their lead on the hour mark through Butterworth, who supported Jimmy Beckett’s break down the middle to score his second try of the match.
With the scoreline reading 24-12, Joe Lyons was shown a yellow card close to his own line after being adjudged to have tackled his man off the ball. From the resultant penalty, Sykes edged the Rams further clear.
With five minutes to go, Dewsbury scored again and had the final say through Ronan Dixon, who touched down to the left of the posts after a strong carry to the line.
Next game
Friday 7 April – Swinton Lions (A) – 3pm
Teams and scorers
Dewsbury Rams: Owen Restall, Lewis Carr, Bailey O’Connor, Ollie Greensmith, Perry Whiteley, Paul Sykes, Calum Turner, Jimmy Beckett, Reiss Butterworth, Ronan Dixon, Matt Garside, Brad Graham, Connor Davies.
Interchanges: Sam Day, Elliot Morris, Jackson Walker, Luke Littlewood (18th man: Jack Coventry).
Tries: Carr, Butterworth 2, Greensmith, Dixon
Goals: Sykes 6
Widnes Vikings: Matt Fleming, Ryan Ince, Sam Wilde, Joe Edge, Kieran Dixon, Jack Owens, Joe Lyons, Callum Field, Matty Fozard, Ant Walker, Adam Lawton, Shane Grady, Liam Bent.
Interchanges: Kyle Amor, Owen Farnworth, Ollie Brookes, Aaron Brown (18th man: Lewis Hatton).
Tries: Fozard, Lawton
Goals: Owens 2
Man of the Match
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