Dixon decides dramatic derby
Kirk Dixon was the Castleford hero as he kicked a 50-metre extra-time penalty to see off the Wakefield Wildcats.
Last Updated: 21/05/11 5:45pm
Kirk Dixon was the Castleford hero as he kicked a 50-metre extra-time penalty to see off Wakefield Wildcats and fire his side into the quarter-finals of the Carnegie Challenge Cup.
The winger struck in the 11th minute of time added on to finally break the hearts of arch-rivals Wakefield in the fifth-round tie.
Earlier, Dixon had levelled the scores for a third time with a penalty three minutes from the end of normal time to set up the 'golden-point' decider.
The Wildcats then wasted three chances to win the tie with failed drop-goal attempts from Josh Veivers, Tommy Lee and Stuart Howarth, while Castleford's Rangi Chase and Danny Orr were also off target with attempts to break the deadlock with one-pointers.
It was Castleford's second 'golden-point' success after they beat Halifax 35-34 in a fifth-round tie two years ago and they could justifiably claim a fair result after outscoring Wakefield three tries to two.
There was little hint of the drama to come as the two sides went toe-to-toe for more than an hour of an occasionally spiteful but generally tame derby.
The Tigers are in freefall in Super League, having lost their last four matches, but they are now just two games away from a first trip to Wembley since 1992.
Perfect start
Castleford made the perfect start, even if the opening score came gift-wrapped.
When the home side tried to clear their lines, winger Dale Morton accepted a high-risk pass from full-back Veivers only to lose the ball in the tackle of Castleford's former Wakefield loose forward Brett Ferres, who had the simple task of picking it up to touch down.
Dixon's conversion made it 6-0 and the Tigers ought to have capitalised more on their early possession and territorial advantage.
But the Wildcats gradually worked their way into the match and scored from their first meaningful attack on 16 minutes, skipper Glenn Morrison winning the race to Julien Rinaldi's pinpoint grubber kick to the line.
Veivers levelled the scores with the conversion and edged his side into an 8-6 half-time lead with a penalty, awarded for an obstruction by centre Castleford centre Willie Isa on loose forward Howarth.
The Tigers had a try by full-back Richard Mathers disallowed by video referee Ian Smith for an obstruction but they only had themselves to blame for going in behind at half-time.
Livelier side
They started the second half as the livelier side, gaining possession from the kick-off through substitute Dean Widders, and impressive hooker Daryl Clark reached the try line only to be held up.
The pivotal moment appeared to come when Wakefield centre Josh Griffin relieved the pressure with a break out of defence and, when the visitors were caught offside, Veivers extended his side's lead with a second penalty.
The Wildcats' lead became 16-6 on 47 minutes when Kieran Hyde's grubber kick took a deflection off an upright, deceiving Chase and allowing Lee to touch down for a soft try.
Chase quickly made amends, dummying his way over for a solo try on 52 minutes, and the visitors drew level four minutes later when captain Orr pounced for a third try after Griffin lost Chase's high kick.
Dixon was surprisingly wide with his third conversion attempt and both sides had chances to win the game, with Mathers held up over the line and Morton squeezing over at the corner only for slow-motion replays to show he had a foot in touch.
Castleford's veteran prop Nick Fozzard must have thought he had lost the game for his side when he was punished for a headbutt on Morrison and Veivers stepped up to kick his third penalty to make it 18-16.
As the tension mounted, the Tigers' chance to win it came when Widders romped through the heart of the Wakefield defence but centre Joe Arundel failed to take the final pass as Greg Johnson got a vital touch on the ball.
Dixon then brought the scores level for a third time three minutes from the end with a 35-metre penalty following a high tackle by Wakefield prop Paul King.
He then had the final say in time added on at the end of the first period of extra time after Frankie Mariano had been penalised for stripping the ball in a two-man tackle.
