Round 14
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 10 d. Wigan Warriors 8

2006 English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: English Super League

Warriors in narrow loss to Wildcats
Mon May 15, 2006
Source: www.wiganwarriors.com

A narrow defeat for Wigan at Belle Vue which leaves the Warriors now five points adrift of Harlequins and six of Wakefield at the foot of the table as it ended 10-8 to Tony Smith's side on Saturday evening.

Wigan could have snatched a win as Pat Richards looked to have scored a try with just two minutes left, a tackle by man of the match Halpenny enough for the Aussie to knock the ball on. Real despair for the team and the army of loyal travelling fans.

The first 25 minutes proved to be a real arm wrestle with both sides struggling to open each other up, defences on top in difficult conditions as the rain continued to fall.

The deadlock was finally broken on 28 minutes, Hill losing possession in a pass out to Ashton which Obst kicked on, Vaealiki with the tackle on the scrum half just short of the line. From the play the ball March sent in Ryan Atkins for the try, Jeffries hit the extras 6-0.

Wigan hit straight back on 35 minutes, big Kiwi Iafeta Paleaaesina barging his way over from close range; Danny Tickle struck the conversion 6-6. The home side penalised in quick succession with Wigan deep inside the Wildcats half. That's how it stayed until the interval.

Wakefield came close to scoring in the opening couple of minutes of the second half, O'Loughlin with a vital stop on David March. Danny Tickle hit a penalty for the Warriors to make it 6-8 on 45 minutes.

The home side crossed for their second try on 52 minutes, Demetriou managing to beat four defenders for a touch down out wide, this time the conversion was missed 10-8 and that was to be the last points of the game.

Unfortunately Wigan were unable to create any real openings, Moran and O'Loughlin prompted and probed with kicks as the game progressed but the Warriors very rarely threatened. That was until that late opportunity for Pat Richards.Good work by Moran and Goulding but Richards losing the ball in the attempt to score, official Steve Ganson checking with the video referee.

This an important win for the Wildcats and Wigan have now completed half of their season and remain a drift at the bottom of the Super League table. A big task ahead now for Brian Noble and his Wigan side.

Wigan give a debut to new signing Danny Hill from Hull while both Brett Dallas and David Vaealiki return after injury to the starting line-up.

Report source: www.wiganwarriors.com

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