Halifax 26 Widnes 24: Top six spot secured as Halifax his Widnes with late show

Damian Ball’s injury-hit side – the caretaker coach revealed afterwards he was down to his last 17 players after Sunday’s brutal contest at Batley – trailed 18-12 at half time and 24-12 going into the final quarter.

At that stage, with persistent rain and the visitors pinning them deep in their own territory through James Coyle’s kicking, a comeback seemed a long way off.

But a 65th-minute try from veteran loose forward Paul Smith kick-started the revival before a second touchdown from teenager Anthony Bowman allowed Danny Jones to level at 24-24.

The stand-off then clinched the points with a penalty four minutes from the end of normal time.

Halifax had looked up against it from the moment the teamsheet was handed round, with props Jim Gannon and Sam Barlow, hooker Sean Penkywicz and centre Jon Goddard all injured.

That brought Frank Watene on to the bench for a rare senior appearance, with utility back Ryan Fieldhouse returning from injury on the bench.

The tempo was high from the off; former Halifax loanee Thomas Coyle forcing the ball from the grasp of prop Michael Ostick inside the first minute and Ostick replying with an equally shuddering tackle on Steve Tyrer.

Once the game settled down it was the home side who made an impression on the scoreboard, Jones’s second-minute kick being pounced on by Bob Beswick.

Jones converted for 6-0, but it was Widnes who scored next when Tyrer raced clear from James Coyle’s pass and picked full -back Danny Hulme out of a battery of support players.

Tyrer levelled at 6-6, but Fax were close to going in front again on 17 minutes when Bowman’s scoring ball to Paul Smith was called forward.

Widnes regained the lead in bizarre circumstances on 24 minutes, back rower Ryan Clayton appearing to fall over in front of Hulme as he returned Beswick’s raking kick and the full-back racing clear before sending Joe Mellor under the posts.

Tyrer’s boot made it 12-6 to the visitors, but Halifax were level on the half hour, Beswick and Jones setting up Greenwood between the posts, with Jones converting.

Halifax’s final defensive set of the first-half had been near-perfect, restricting the Vikings to around 30m in five tackles. But when the visitors pushed the ball left, their defence was left exposed and Paddy Flynn raced away down the sideline before setting up Mellor for his second score of the night, with Tyrer converting.

Halifax: Greenwood, White, Haley, Nash, Worrincy, Jones, Bowman, Ostick, Beswick, Cherryholme, Clayton, Bannister, Smith. Substitutes: Aizue, Watene, Chandler, Fieldhouse.

Widnes: Hulme, Penny, Tyrer, Ropati, Flynn, Mellor, J. Coyle, D. Crosby, T. Coyle, Pickersgill, Finnigan, Grady, K. Haggerty. Substitutes: Varkulis, Allen, Tomkins, Kavanagh.

Referee: Matthew Thomasson (RFL).