St Helens made to work hard for 20-16 win against Wakefield as they continue unbeaten run
Last Updated: 07/03/15 12:00am
Tries from Paul Wellens, Joe Greenwood and Jordan Turner - all of which were converted - as well as a penalty from the boot of Thomas Makinson was enough for the visitors to claim second spot in the Super League table.
Wakefield led for a large period of the game, and scored three tries of their own, but were forced to accept defeat as the Saints experience told in the final moments of the game.
The opening exchanges were dominated by solid defence from both teams as the ball was not taken deep into either half with any sort of purpose.
It was Saints who opened the scoring when they moved up the field through Jonny Lomax, who was brought down right in front of the poles. Paul Wellens took the ball next and crashed over for the first try of the game in the eighth minute.
The try appeared to bring the home team to life as they began to give the ball width in the second quarter. Once up on the Saints line the ball was passed to Jacob Miller who collected it off his laces before popping to Matty Ashurst who scored against his former club.
The momentum remained with Wakefield as they defended well on their line before Reece Lyne intercepted the ball and broke away from the covering defence. He was eventually brought down on the left hand side deep in Saints territory.
The ball was moved to the other side of the field where Saints conceded a penalty and Wakefield were over the line shortly thereafter as the man who started it all, Lyne, cantered over in the left-hand corner.
Relieving
Wakefield appeared to have opened the scoring in the second half on two occasions; first when Reece Lyne went over but there was an obstruction leading up to it, then when Chris Riley crossed the referee called them back for a forward pass on the final pass of the move.
With both chances gone, it was Saints who scored first when a stray Wakefield pass was picked up by Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook resulting in an end-to-end try for Joe Greenwood who supported his team-mate well.
Makinson added a crucial penalty before Jordan Turner added a try of his own to make it 20-12 to Saints. Wakefield hit back through a deft kick from Dean Collis, who had run well up the touchline, which was collected by Richard Owen who brought his team right back into it with nine minutes remaining.
Unfortunately for Wakefield they were unable to score as the defending champions closed the game out for a relieving win that sends them up the table where they are tied with Leeds who take top spot thanks to a marginally superior points difference.