They were denied possession for long periods of the game, found it hard to apply any real pressure, and were ultimately ‘out-enthused’ by their opponents who will have been delighted with this victory – their second in a row – which lifted themselves a little further away from the drop zone with just five rounds of the competition left.

They also had a double cause for celebration as Sefton were beaten at Leigh in what was a real ‘eight-pointer’ at the foot of the table.

Widnes, meanwhile, were left to reflect on what was a missed opportunity to keep up the pressure on the teams above them. The defeat means they are now seven points behind third placed Tarleton, and ten points behind the leading pair of Didsbury and Liverpool St Helens.

The weather for the game was dry, grey and breezy, with just a glimpse of blue sky and sunshine which occasionally threatened to make an appearance in the early part of the proceedings.

The opening exchanges were all a bit scrappy and there were plenty of errors in that opening quarter.

Southport had the first opportunity when a neat chip over the top of the advancing Widnes defence almost paid dividends. Next, there was a strong run from Tom O’Neill, before a couple of smart kicks ahead from Josh Salter got the visitors close.

After Aaron Duggan had been denied a score after stepping into touch on his way to the line, Southport finally got their noses in front after 20 minutes with a penalty from Addison Mann.

Five minutes later, Josh Salter squared things up with a well struck 30 metre kick from straight in front.

On the thirty-minute mark, Southport had a player despatched to the sin bin and shortly afterwards, Tom O’Neill used both size and strength to crash over for a try. Josh Salter then booted over a fine conversion from touch to make the score 3 – 10.

At this point, Widnes were defending their line well, and Port’s only reply was another penalty from Mann on the stroke of half-time.

Will Patient came on at the start of the second period, and the half began well enough for the visitors, that was until the 45th minute, when a Wids attacking move broke down, and Southport were able to hack on the loose ball from 75 metres to eventually pick up and score.
With Mann once again on target, the home side were in the lead again at 13 – 10.

Shortly afterwards, Widnes themselves had a player sent to the sin-bin and Mann converted once again to increase the leading margin to six points.

Widnes then introduced Kevin Leadbetter and Matt Blakey from the bench.

By now, the Southport tails were up, and when Mann added a further penalty on the hour mark it was beginning to look ominous for the visitors as the clock ticked down.

Despite that, they did have chances, and when quick hands freed up Jamie Patient to score in the corner, it was game on again with just four points in it.

Aaron Duggan was then denied a score as he stepped into touch on his way to the line, and shortly after that Gavin Hatton appeared to be obstructed as he chased a loose ball in a race to the line.

In the end, neither was enough for the Wids to grab the win, and Southport managed to see out the remaining minutes and secure the victory.

Head coach Andy McIntosh said afterwards “A frustrating defeat for the lads to take today - certainly not our worst performance of the year - but a missed opportunity to gain some ground on the league table.

Southport were well up for it and won a lot of the key 50:50 battles on the field, and on balance, overall, they out enthused us which was disappointing and they took the chances that were on offer.

A few honest reflections are required before we put things right next week in our return clash with West Park, which is always a tough derby game and one we have to be up for”.

Widnes: J Butler, J Krause, J Patient, T Spencer, G Hatton, J Salter, C O’Donnell, M Lawton, P Makles, J Winstanley, M Garrity, A Duggan, R Millington, M Jones, T O’Neill (c). Reps: W Patient, M Blakey, K Leadbetter,