Wids’ fightback falls short
BOWDON.............................................. 29 WIDNES................................................ 25
WIDNES came up just short in an almost identical repeat of the last game between the sides earlier in the season.
That day, they recovered from a big first half deficit to win the game in the dying seconds, and if this game had continued for just a few moments longer then they would surely have gone on to repeat the dose.
As it was, they came up just short, but did enough to claim two bonus points when it looked as though their cause waslost as they trailed 29-8 midway through the second half.
There was a pre-match shock for the visitors as Dave Welsh pulled out of the side through injury, and he was replaced by recent new boy Brad Gardiner who was making his senior debut. Adam Loughnane was also drafted in at hooker for his first appearance of the campaign.
As in the first game, it was Bowdon who were quickest out of the blocks, although Aaron Duggan had earlier made a determined break through the midfield before Kevin Leadbetter pulled a penalty just wide.
It was some rather sloppy clearance work which allowed Bowdon to set up some decent field position, from where they were able to get their noses in front with a try from Alfie Dudman-Jones converted by Mike Swetman. ●
The home side then bombed another scoring opportunity as poor handling let them down. They were able to maintain that pressure though, and it wasn’t long before prop forward Craig Anthony crashed over to make it 12-0.
After 28 minutes, the visitors did finally get their name onto the score sheet, when Bowdon were pinged for offside and captain Kevin Leadbetter knocked over a well struck penalty.
The kick seemed to lift Widnes’s efforts, and a great Keiron Arndell break saw Bowdon hurriedly try to clear the danger, only for Justin Winstanley to charge down the kick before re-gathering and crashing over the whitewash.
Now, it was Bowdon’s turn to look sloppy with errors creeping into their game, and after 33 minutes they suffered a further blow when they had a player despatched to the sin-bin following an obstruction on Kevin Leadbetter as he followed up his own kick.
The home side, however, were able to see out the remainder of the half without any further damage to the scoreboard.
The Wids’ failure to reach 10 metres from the re-start seemed to set the tone for the early part of the second half, and they were fortunate not to concede more points as the referee awarded Bowdon a penalty as they raced clear for what would have been a certain try.
However, their tails were up and after 48 minutes they added a third try through Swetman to make it 17-8.
The hardworking Sam Whitty then pulled off a fine try-saving tackle as the Bowdon wing threatened to race clear, before the hosts failed to capitalise on a two-on-one overlap.
With the home side in the ascendency, the next try wasn’t long in coming, and after 52 minutes, Danny Kennedy just got the ball down over the line for a try despite some desperate Wids defence.
Widnes then rang the changes, with Sam Bryan and Jamie Patient coming onto the field, but they were powerless to do anything about the next Bowdon try as Widnes lost possession which allowed the home side to hack on the loose ball from some 80 metres before Dudman-Jones touched down for his second try.
At 29-8 and only 14 minutes left, there seemed no way back for the visitors. But, rather than throw in the towel, they were able to lift their game and roar their way back into the contest to claim at least some reward for their efforts.
Their comeback in some ways was helped along by what appeared to be some rather unsavoury goings on at the far end of the field which seemed to anger the Widnes players. And, when the disagreement had finally been calmed down, the outcome was the despatching of another Bowdon player into the sin-bin.
After that, Widnes re-doubled their effort and determination, and with a numerical advantage it wasn’t long before Mike Jones was able to cross the line for a try.
From the re-start, Patient then made an exciting run down the centre, and as that forward momentum was continued on by the pack, Whitty was rewarded with a try to make the score 29-18.
Then, with just moments remaining, Arndell made a break which allowed the pack to set up field position close to the line, from where Gavin Hatton dummied his way over for a try from close range.
With time all but up, Kevin Leadbetter still had time to add the conversion to earn Widnes two valuable bonus points from the game when earlier it had looked like they would be returning with nothing other than their tail between their legs. The official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Dacia Duster range are: urban 35.3 (8.0) – 64.2 (4.4); extra-urban 45.6 (6.2) – 65.7 (4.3); combined 41.5 (6.8) – 64.2 (4.4). The official CO2 emissions are 155–115g/km. Figures are obtained for comparative purposes in accordance with EU Legislation and may not reflect real life driving results. The Competition is only open to UK residents (excluding residents of Northern Ireland) who are over the age of 16. The competition will run from 18 February 2017 until 9 April 2017. All entries to be received by the closing date. Any entries received after this date will be invalid. For full terms and conditions (including further information on entry, eligibility, prizes and winners) go to www.dacia.co.uk/rules. Entrants will be deemed to have accepted and agreed to be bound by the full terms and conditions when entering the competition.