Super 8s: Denny Solomona helps Castleford down Wigan with 36-22 win
Last Updated: 13/08/16 12:50am
Denny Solomona reached 31 tries for the season with a hat-trick as Castleford kept alive their dream of a Super League top-four finish by beating second-placed Wigan 36-22 at the Mend-a-Hose Jungle.
Super League's top try-scorer was clinical as the Tigers claimed their first in four attempts against the Warriors this season, backing up their stunning win at league leaders Hull and leaving Wigan two points adrift of the summit with five games to play.
It was only Castleford's second win in their last eight home games, but a fourth victory in five overall means they have enough momentum to retain faint hopes of extending their season.
The Tigers, unchanged from the side triumphant at the KC Stadium, held a deserved 12-6 lead at half-time, courtesy of tries from Solomona and Paul McShane, with Sam Powell replying for Wigan.
Two further scores from Kiwi Solomona plus late tries from Ryan Hampshire and Oliver Holmes clinched the victory, while Ben Flower, John Bateman and Lee Mossop scored for the visitors who at one stage looked set to set up a tense finish.
Luke Gale finished with six goals for the home side and Matty Smith added three for the visitors.
Wigan were hit by the late withdrawal of talisman and skipper Sean O'Loughlin but boosted by the return of long-term injury victims Liam Farrell, out four months with damaged ribs, and Anthony Gelling, who had missed six games with a pectoral injury.
Rangi Chase, in only his third game back as a Castleford player, set the tone for an uncompromising encounter with a crunching early tackle which had Dom Manfredi being helped groggily off after just seven minutes.
Soon afterwards, prolific winger Solomona gave the hosts the lead after being freed by Luke Dorn to run from his own half and score his 29th try of the season.
Gale missed the touchline conversion but moments later kicked a penalty from in front of the posts after Andre Savelio had been taken out high.
Josh Charnley was held up over the line and Gelling forced into touch by the corner flag as Wigan tried to respond, with the Tigers successfully defending three successive sets.
McShane increased Castleford's advantage just before the half-hour mark, dummying his way over near the posts after a strong run from Greg Minikin, with Gale adding the extras to make it 12-0.
The Warriors finally got back into the game when Powell crossed after some elusive running and a speculative off-load from Smith, who then converted to halve the deficit.
But seven minutes into the second half Solomona rose to take a Gale cross-field kick and grounded the ball as he fell, to put Castleford back on track.
The Warriors countered immediately with Ben Flower scoring under the posts from close range.
But Solomona again broke the visitors' hearts when brilliantly finishing off a try in the corner, created by the quick hands of Gale and Dorn and superbly converted by Gale.
Tempers boiled over around the hour mark with the home side's Holmes and Wigan's Dom Crosby being sin-binned for their part in the altercation, Gale taking advantage of the subsequent penalty to put the Tigers three scores
clear.
Bateman grabbed a try back for the Warriors, then gave them further hope when breaking and sending Mossop over with 14 minutes to play.
But Hampshire and Holmes settled home nerves by sealing the victory with late tries in either corner.