As happened in the previous game, the Wids remained well into this contest for an hour, only for several missed opportunities and wrong options, allowed Vale to take control and ease their way to victory.

In an exciting first forty minutes, the two teams were all square at the break, and then level again 22 – 22 midway through the second half. But, in the end it was not to be, and the Wids must now turn their attention to Saturday’s ‘winner takes all’ fixture against Firwood Waterloo.

Following the early morning rain, the weather improved dramatically, giving way to a breezy but sunny afternoon. And, with the pitch once again in excellent condition, a fast and open game looked to be in prospect.

Both sides looked to be feeling each other out in the early exchanges, but on seven minutes a Vale penalty got them close to the Wids line allowing their big pack to get to work for Crompton to crash over for the opening try.

From there, back came the home side, and a penalty from Liam McGovern made it 3 – 5.

Fullback Chris Ramwell then made a long-range break for Vale, before the Wids pinched a scrum against the head to dilute the danger.

After 15 minutes, some crisp handling along the home side’s backline, saw Andy Clarke link up from fullback, and his pass released Kevin Leadbetter on a 20-metre dash to the line.

For the moment, the Widnes momentum continued, and Liam Lawton’s deft chip through almost paid dividends, before Lewis George was bundled into touch on the opposite flank.

After a brief bout of fisticuffs, Vale opted for their earlier successful route one forwards approach, which paid dividends once again as Harm Dokter barged over for a try which was then converted by Damon Hall.

Following a great run out of defence by Andy Clarke, centre Damon Hall then caught almost everyone inside Heath Road by surprise by booting over a super long-range drop goal which increased the visitors lead.

In the final minute of the half, Widnes were once again able to make inroads deep into the Vale half, and some smart handling allowed Jamie Patient to hand on to Andy Clarke who went over for a try to make things all square at half-time.

If the Wids were to get something from this game, then they needed to learn the lessons from the first half. But it didn’t start that way, as Vale quickly added a third try as Hall sliced his way through a big gap to score a try which he then converted.

Proving they were not out of it yet, the home side came roaring back as Charlie Feeley once again took matters into his own hands by collecting possession before striding through a big gap in the Vale defence to score underneath the posts.

Liam McGovern’s conversion then made it all square on the scoreboard at 22 – 22.

At this point, the Wids remained very much still in this game, but their failure to learn the lessons, allowed the Vale pack to get to work for a third time as hooker Dokter barged his way over the line for a second try, alongside another booming touchline conversion.

At this point, frustrations boiled then over for a second time, and on this occasion, the referee opted to put a player from each side into the sin-bin.

Continuing to be their own worst enemies, Widnes conceded again, as a smart kick and chase ended with another try from Jack McFarlane and the subsequent conversion.

With the result out of sight now, Vale then added another try, as what looked like a harmless kick downfield wasn’t dealt with effectively, which allowed the visitors to swoop for another try from Hall to round off the scoring.

Head coach Liam McGovern said afterwards "Today was a really good physical game of Rugby and we came up against a well drilled team who will be certainly challenging the top four come the end of the season.

It was a contrast in styles with us playing all the attacking rugby and Vale very much sticking to the set piece and box kick style.

I was more than happy with the players effort and application, and for 60 mins it was a level score and the game was in the balance.

Unfortunately, we made some silly errors at this point, and we need to improve on being a bit more street wise in our decision making and not overplaying when we have them under pressure.

Overall, though, plenty of positives to take away and build upon. It has been two challenging games to start the season with which we knew they would be, but it will make us a better team in the long run following this tough start.”

Widnes: A Clarke, J Patient, L Lawton, K Leadbetter, L George, L McGovern, J Salter, M Blakey, B Mercer, K Riley, S Bryan, M Garrity, M Jones, C Feeley, T O’Neill (c). Reps: M Lawton, W Patient, E Price.