In a game that saw the lead change hands several times in the second half - and could have gone either way - it took a 79th minute try from Liam Lawton to finally earn Widnes the spoils.

The win means that they have now secured four wins on the bounce, with the result lifting them into joint fourth place in the table. It will also put them in good heart ahead of Saturdays home game with league leaders Sandbach.

The match programme had spoken about ‘Ribb’s proud record of successive promotions and their two-year unbeaten home record - and rightly so - but this was a challenge and an opportunity that the Wids were happy to accept.

Not that things started that well for the visitors.

They suffered an early shock in the warm up when in-form Andy Clarke had to withdraw after suffering a groin strain, which forced a last-minute re-shuffle with Ciaran O’Donnell moving to fullback from the bench.

The weather for the game in the lovely, picturesque village of Settle in North Yorkshire, was grey and chilly with a stiff breeze blowing down the pitch. Nevertheless, the conditions were almost perfect and ideal for some free-flowing rugby.

Fortunately, the Wids were quick to shake off that earlier injury hiccup and were soon into their stride.

After Charlie Feeley had been brought down short of the line, a break on the opposite flank from Lewis George ended with Liam Lawton racing in behind the posts for a try.

Liam McGovern’s conversion gave the Wids a seven-point advantage.

Five minutes later, the Wids were at it again. This time a strong midfield break from Tom O’Neill ended with the ball being switched one way and then the other, before Charlie Feeley touched down to increase the visitors lead to twelve points.

That second try seemed to wake up the home side, and on the back of a penalty which got them close, lively hooker Sumner barged his way over for a try from close range to reduce the deficit.

Things got even tighter ten minutes later, as ‘Ribb scored a second try from close quarters to make it 10 – 15.

Widnes were under the cosh now as the home side sensed they were really back in the contest and put the visitors under some intense pressure.

However, when Widnes were finally able to break free from their defensive shackles, they moved their way downfield to earn a penalty, which McGovern converted in style from forty metres out to increase their lead to eight points.

Disaster struck almost immediately though for the ‘red-and-blacks’ as number eight Drew intercepted a long pass to race home untouched for a try which was converted by Davidson to make it a one-point ball game.

But, with just a minute to go, the trusty boot of McGovern struck home another long-distance penalty to make the score 17 – 21 at half time.

At this point, after being under intense pressure, Widnes needed a calmer and more intelligent approach to the start of the second period. However, they conceded an early penalty which ‘Ribb were able to exploit to the full to finally get their noses in front.

With their tails up now, and the Wids kicking game not as it should be, pressure from the home side continued, and a fine individual effort from centre Coultherd after 52 minutes made the score 27 – 21.

Four minutes later, McGovern booted over another long-range penalty, before then repeating the dose a few later minutes to square things up at 27 – 27.

With ten minutes left, ‘Ribb earned themselves a penalty which gave them back the lead again at 30pts – 27.

Widnes then had a chance to square things up once again, but this time McGovern’s kick was narrowly wide of the target.

However, they remained in the right area of the field, and following several forward phases close to the line, the visitors were able to get the ball out wide for Liam Lawton to cross for his second try and give Widnes back the lead.

Even then, there was still time for ‘Ribb to lay siege to the Wids line on the back of a penalty in one final attempt to grab a late victory.

However, after having worked so hard to re-establish a foothold in this contest, there was no way the Wids were going to let this one slip, and they continued to defend their line as though their lives depended on it.

In the end, a ‘Ribb error as they went for the jugular finally ended their hopes of winning the game and extending that long unbeaten run by another week.

Head coach Liam McGovern said afterwards "Today was always going to be a tough encounter and a challenge in lots of different ways for the players.

I thought we certainly answered a lot of questions today, and as coach I am so proud of the lad’s efforts and especially that performance.

Defensively we were outstanding and stopped Ribblesdale playing their natural game. In attack we looked very dangerous, and we spoke about how we could cause them problems in certain areas which is exactly what happened with patience, depth, and the ability to build phases.

We have been training really well, and the detailed preparation we are buying into as a club is telling in the results on Saturday".

Widnes: C O’Donnell, J Patient, L Lawton, K Leadbetter, L George, L McGovern, G Hatton, D Rourke, R Mafi, S Whitty, M Garrity, S Bryan, M Jones, C Feeley, T O’Neill (c). Reps: R Hamlett, E Price, A Clarke.