Wigan 32-16 Widnes: Warriors fight back in Super League win
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 05/03/18 10:48am
Wigan Warriors bounced back from last weekend's defeat to Warrington with a 32-16 Super League comeback victory over Widnes Vikings.
The Vikings took the game to the Warriors in the first half and led 16-0 after 27 minutes thanks to tries from Matt Whitley and Stefan Marsh with Tom Gilmore faultless from the boot.
Wigan did manage to pull one back through Joe Burgess before the break in a half where they were second best.
The Warriors looked a completely different side in the second period as they dominated their opponents and ran in five unanswered tries from Ryan Sutton, Thomas Leuluai, Liam Farrell, Sam Tomkins and Tom Davies - with Morgan Escare and Sam Tomkins adding the extras - to make it three wins from four this season.
Widnes took the lead after just six minutes when Gilmore's grubber kick caused panic in the Warriors defence and Whitley was on hand to ground the ball before Wigan could react.
Gilmore tagged on the extras as the visitors led 6-0. Two penalties from Gilmore saw the Vikings move into a 10-0 lead as the hosts struggled to keep pace.
The Warriors looked sluggish in attack, both Joel Tomkins and George Williams went close, but they rarely troubled the Vikings' defence.
The visitors then made them pay 12 minutes before the break as Marsh collected a neat ball from Joe Mellor to give his side a 16-0 lead.
The Warriors thought they had finally gone over with Davies touching down, but referee Robert Hicks penalised them for obstruction in the build-up.
The Vikings failed to reach touch with the penalty due to the strong winds, but again Wigan were guilty of complacency with ball in hand as Sam Powell knocked on 10 metres from the line.
The home side finally got on the score sheet on the stroke of half-time with Burgess collecting a long ball to score in the corner, Sam Tomkins failed to convert as Widnes led 16-4 on the hooter.
But Wigan improved significantly after the break with Burgess and John Bateman going close, the Warriors reduced the gap to just six points when Sutton steamed onto a Sam Powell pass to score.
The Vikings were having to do a lot of tackling in the second period and Wigan moved to within two points as Leuluai scored from two yards out, following some good work from Willie Isa.
The momentum was with the hosts and they hit the front for the first time when Farrell ran the perfect line to go over as Widnes fell to pieces.
It could have been worse for the Vikings as Joel Tomkins seemed to score, only for it to be ruled out for a forward pass.
The Warriors put the game to bed in the final six minutes as Sam Tomkins collected a Widnes chip over before stepping through a gap and racing 60 metres to score, while Davies made the points safe with a try just before the hooter as the Warriors turned this game round and moved up to second in the table.
