REPORT: NORTH WALES CRUSADERS 14-30 WIDNES VIKINGS

The Vikings bowed out of the 1895 Cup this afternoon, despite a 30-14 victory against North Wales Crusaders in our final group stage fixture.

Six tries weren’t enough as we missed out on the 1895 Cup quarter-finals on points difference amongst second-placed teams.

Jordan Johnstone also made his 150th career appearance in the fixture.

The home side made a fast start, charging down Joe Lyons’ last tackle kick on the opening possession of the game for Matt Reid to race away and score.

They extended their lead soon after, as former Viking Patrick Ah Van scored in the corner to put North Wales 10-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes.

The Vikings fought back, getting three quick tries through Edge, Roby, and Fozard to lead 14-10 with around 15 minutes to go in the first half.

The lead was then extended by Mike Butt, as he did brilliantly well to outpace his opposite number and finish in the corner to put the Vikings up 18-10 at the break.

The lads started well after the interval as Lyons found a gap to race away and score just five minutes into the second half to extend our lead to 14 points.

However, a scratchy period followed with errors and penalties derailing the Vikings’ momentum. Ah Van then crossed again for the Crusaders, powering through bodies to score.

Max Wood then had the final say, as he collected a short ball to break through the North Wales line and crash over to take the final score to 30-14 in favour of the Vikings.

Focus switches to next Sunday’s Challenge Cup fourth-round tie with Bradford Bulls at Odsal Stadium.

Get your tickets to support Allan and the lads HERE

COACHES COMMENTS

Head Coach Allan Coleman said: “It was a bit of a stop-start game, quite frustrating. Credit to North Wales I thought they played really well, credit to Carl and his team.

“I think as soon as we have that first set and they charge down the kick and score, the energy zaps and we can’t afford to be like that.

“I feel for them a bit today, with the new rules I think the penalty count was sky-high, there was a lot of stop-start in the game and it just doesn’t suit us.

“Consistency is key and what’s really important is we’ve shown glimpses of what we can do, we just have to do that for longer spells.”