WIDNES ‘RAIN’ SUPREME

On the other hand, the result was not so good for LSH, who, apart from losing the local bragging rights, also lost their 100% record as well as having two players sent off on a wet and soggy night.

Despite the awful monsoon like conditions, the ‘red-and-blacks’ turned in a thoroughly professional performance – led from the front by talisman Captain and man of the match Kevin Leadbetter - to claim the five valuable league points on offer, and put them in great heart for Saturday’s first away game at Trafford.

The excitement of a first league fixture under floodlights soon gave way to disappointment, as heavy rain poured down for an hour before kick-off, and which then barely relented throughout the full eighty minutes.

So, it was remarkable, that even given the dreadful conditions, the two teams managed to turn in a tremendous evening’s entertainment.

As the game got underway, it was the visitors who had much of the early possession and field position, which allowed them to take an early 3 – nil from the boot of Alex McBride.

Unsurprisingly, there were a few mistakes in the early stages caused by the wet and greasy ball, and it took the home side some 15 minutes before they reached the opposition’s quarter of the field.

When they did, it took a fine, well-drilled line-out move involving Mike Jones who found the supporting Tom O’Neill who crashed over for a try scattering several defenders in his wake.

Despite the horrible conditions, full back Andy Owens then added the conversion to make the score 7 – 3 in favour of the home side.

The game continued to be an exciting, but stop-start affair, with most of the action confined to the middle part of the field and with defences on top.

After 30 minutes, the visitors had a player sent to the sin-bin for ten minutes following a deliberate knock down, and shortly before the break, full back Owens booted his side a little further ahead with a penalty to make the score 10 – 3 at half time.

With the game still in the balance, the visitors probably needed to score next. But, instead, they suffered a double blow as two players were sent to the sin-bin in quick succession. In that time, Andy Owens slotted over another penalty to make it 13 – 3.

Ill discipline continued to haunt the visitors, and when they then had a player shown a red card, it looked like they now had a mountain to climb.

Could the Wids now make their opponents pay for their lack of composure?

That answer came just a few minutes later, as Andy Owens outpaced the cover wide out to score their second try.

It was soon to go from bad to worse as another visiting player was sent off, and the home side made it count again as hooker Pawel Makles crashed over for a try with the trusty boot of Owens once again on target.

The red-and-blacks too then suffered the wrath of the referee, and they also had a player dismissed from the field.

Despite this, and with the result already long assured in the deteriorating conditions, the home side were able to finish with a flourish as Mike Jones exploited the overlap wide out to score the bonus point try and wrap up a great nights work for the Heath Road boys.

A delighted Head coach Andy McIntosh said afterwards “The conditions tonight were poor but I thought we were outstanding. We targeted our defence and to frustrate LSH into making mistakes, manage our discipline, kick well and then take our chances when they came along.

I thought we deserved this win and it sends out a great message for the rest of the season. The lads will stay grounded, and if we continue to play with that discipline we could go a long way this year. It was a superb performance and the coaching team are very proud.