Warrington defeat Widnes to move top of Super League
Last Updated: 25/03/16 6:47pm
Warrington recovered from 10-0 down to claim the outright lead in the First Utlilty Super League with a 28-10 win in their top-of-the-table derby with Widnes.
Tries from Chris Sandow and Tom Lineham cancelled out the Vikings' bright start at the Halliwell Jones Stadium before Kurt Gidley, Ryan Atkins and Ben Currie secured a hard-earned seventh victory from seven for Warrington.
The victory sees the Wolves leapfrog their neighbours to the top of the table, despite the Vikings taking the lead through tries from Tom Gilmore and Rhys Handbury.
There were questions how the visitors might fare without their captain and scrum-half Kevin Brown but his understudy Gilmore filled his shoes brilliantly early on.
22-year-old Gilmore was instrumental in the Vikings' opening try after five minutes, including the decisive final touch.
His high kick was firstly well claimed by Patrick Ah Van and, after the ball came back, Stefan Marsh dabbed through another kick that sat up nicely for Gilmore to score.
The Vikings then showed their mettle in defence as Warrington tried to respond and they withstood some intense pressure, particularly as the in-form Sandow probed the line menacingly.
Widnes dominance in the opening quarter, which did not feature a single penalty, was reinforced when they extended their lead through Handbury after 24 minutes. Hanbury's conversion pushed the score to 10-0 but Warrington rallied to level before the break.
A mistake by Chris Houston at the restart created the position for Sandow to find his way over before Lineham dived over in the corner in trademark fashion. Gidley missed both conversions but did land a penalty after the half-time hooter.
Widnes made a strong start to the second period but Warrington escaped damage as Manase Manuokafoa was blocked by a combination of defenders and a goalpost. Such was Widnes' confidence they declined a kickable penalty but that proved costly as the Wolves stood firm and then hit back through Gidley to take the lead for the first time.
Widnes did not roll over but Warrington maintained the pressure and eventually tightened their grip as Atkins outjumped Corey Thompson to claim a Sandow kick and touch down 12 minutes from time.
Warrington continued to grind down the visitors and Currie put the seal on victory in the closing minutes with Gidley taking his goal tally to four.