Big win for Colts

Winnington struggled to contain the Widnes back line and by the time the interval came there was no way back for the visitors.

Second row Tom Whitfield scored the first of seven tries for the Wids; when he crossed in the corner after some good play from Will Johnson and Will Patient.

Widnes didn’t have to wait long for their second try of the afternoon courtesy of some poor play by Winnington. The ever alert Will Johnson intercepted a loose pass on the half way and raced 50 metres unopposed to score under the sticks. Josh Salter added the extras.

For the Wids third try, Johnson turned provider latching onto a shot ball from Rob Cooke he raced down the blind side, stepped inside, and gave a perfectly timed pass to Josh Salter who touched down out wide. Alex Jones was successful with a great kick from the touchline, putting the home side firmly in the driving seat at 19-0.

They continued to move the ball across the pitch, stretching the Winnington defence and threatening the line. Direct running from Will Patient and Sean Glover in the pack gave the Wids play some variety and kept the opposition on their toes. Joe Head stepping up to play in the front row worked hard to secure good ball for his backs.

Another solo effort, this time from Alex Jones, put Widnes further ahead. Dan Doyle fielded a kick in his own 22 and fed the ball to Jones who beat five Winnington defenders on his way to the line.

Straight from the restart Widnes scored again. Tom Whitfield caught the ball cleanly, passed to Jones who put Allan Breeden through a gap; Breeden made good metres before releasing Josh Salter to go in for his second of the game. Another successful conversion from Jones put the home team 31-0 up just before the break.

Winnington hadn’t given up, and did well with what possession they did have. They got their reward with the last play of the half when Widnes were shown a yellow card, and from the resulting penalty the Winnington pack managed to work their way over for a converted try.

The start of the second half was business as usual, Widnes scoring with less than a minute gone. In a fine move that went from one side of the pitch to the other, Jones offloaded to Jamie Hughes, who took on the Winnington defence before getting the ball to Whitfield, who slipped the ball to Will Johnson who dived over in the corner for his second score.

After the fast pace of the first half, the second period never reached the same level of intensity. Both teams ran less ball, instead opting to kick more for field position. The Wids back line still managed to break the line on several more occasions and put Winnington under pressure, but the support play wasn’t at the level it had been earlier in the game.

Both teams scored a further try each before the end of the match. The Winnington pack, again from a penalty close to the Widnes line barged their way over, but missed what should have been a straightforward conversion from in front of the posts.

Alex Jones scored his second and the final try of the game with 15 minutes remaining. No. 8 Breeden picked up from the back of a scrum on the half way, carried the ball blind and offloaded to Jones who rounded the Winnington winger to complete the scoring.

This was another blistering first half performance from Widnes to see off a spirited Winnington team who played their part and never threw in the towel. They raised their game after the interval but were never going to close the gap that Widnes had opened up at the start of the game.