Wakefield Trinity 18 Castleford Tigers 20: Golden shot by Dixon is clincher for Tigers

When a composed Kirk Dixon slotted a huge 50m kick from the touchline at Belle Vue on Saturday, the Castleford winger finally brought closure to what turned out to be an epic Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth-round tie.

The significant ‘golden point’ penalty arrived in the 91st minute after a succession of team-mates and opponents had each tried and failed to grab the crucial golden point via a host of badly executed drop goal attempts.

As the first period of extra-time drew to close, there had been seven miscued efforts.

Anyone bemoaning England’s penalty taking when the nation’s football side is knocked out of the next major global tournament should be safe in the knowledge sudden-death occasions get to all players in all sports.

Thankfully, all the drama, excitement and nervousness came to a conclusion in the unlikeliest of circumstances.

With barely a second left of that first period and Wakefield’s Josh Veivers, Matty Wildie, Tommy Lee and – as a sign of the panic that had ensued – second-row Frankie Mariano all having barely dribbled a kick to the posts, Tigers Danny Orr (2) and Rangi Chase having been similarly off-cue, referee Richard Silverwood awarded a penalty.

It was not a contentious decision, more a moment of madness from Trinity winger Dale Morton who, in a two-man tackle with Mariano, opted to dislodge the ball from Willie Isa illegally.

If the tackle had been completed ordinarily, with Castleford 40m from Wakefield’s line, the interval would have arrived and everyone would have chance to breathe again.

But, instead, Dixon took his own deep breath and sailed the kick between the posts where Castleford’s elated supporters were already cheering one of the most dramatic derby victories in recent memory.

“I knew we’d still have another half to go if I didn’t get it but I was always confident,” said the 26-year-old, who was only made the club’s regular kicker this year.

“You’ve just got to keep doing what you do in practice, stick to the routine... and try blank out all the boos behind you!

“The actual win was down to a great team effort though to get into that position and in range for a goal.”

It had been an eventful afternoon for Dixon, who had levelled the game in the 77th minute with a more straight-forward penalty.

“I was possibly more nervous for that one, though; if it didn’t go over we’d be out of the cup,” he said, his side trailing by two because a simple conversion attempt of Orr’s earlier try was ruled wide when he was adamant it had crossed.

“Once it went into extra-time, winning the toss was vital as it meant we got the wind.

“They were kicking into it and our forwards really showed up but there was a bit of pressure on us because we knew they’d have that wind in the second half if we didn’t score. We got it, though, and as a spectacle for TV it was fantastic. It was great to play in.”

It certainly was for Dixon, given his career was in doubt last year when he had missed six months of action due to a serious blood clot in his calf.

Wakefield, for whom captain Glenn Morrison was again outstanding in a remarkably tireless performance, will feel aggrieved they lost having built a 16-6 advantage.

Their was a grittiness to their play which suggested they could eke out victory in a game which, for large parts, was hard-fought but lacking finesse.

Despite boasting Super League’s most exhilarating player – Chase – and one of the sport’s most exciting youngsters in Daryl Clark, the visitors could not find enough rhythm to break down stubborn Wakefield.

Chase was kept quiet and only came to life in the final quarter when he shimmied and dummied his way over in the 53rd minute.

His side had started well. With added aggression and eagerness, Tigers – who had not won in five matches – seemed more ready for the fight and were duly rewarded with the game’s first try in the sixth minute.

Trinity full-back Veivers inexplicably passed across his own posts to Morton, who endured his first clanger of the day, losing the ball as a bustling Brett Ferres tackled him, leaving the surprised Castleford back-row with the easy task of simply stretching over.

Dixon kicked the goal but Julien Rinaldi’s delicate grubber pierced the Castleford defence and the ball sat up perfectly for the chasing Morrison on 16 minutes.

Veivers converted before the game erupted when Howarth’s swinging arm poleaxed Clark and prompted retaliation from Tigers team-mate Richard Owen.

Mathers had a ‘try’ ruled out for obstruction from the resultant penalty before Veivers put Trinity ahead when Isa foolishly blocked Howarth while chasing a kick.

After the interval, Veivers added another penalty before Trinity seemingly took control, Lee scoring as he got a fingertip to the loose ball when Kieran Hyde threaded a kick through which hit the post and wickedly eluded Chase.

But after Chase’s response, Josh Griffin quickly dropped the Kiwi’s hanging crossfield kick for Orr to mop up the pieces for Castleford’s third try.

Dixon’s ‘missed’ kick looked crucial when Trinity restored the lead through Veivers’ next penalty after Tigers prop Nick Fozzard had petulantly butted Morrison in the tackle.

However, Castleford had one last chance when Paul King high-tackled Orr and Dixon took the game into extra-time – and all that drama to come.

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Wakefield Trinity Wildcats: Veivers, G Johnson, Murphy, Griffin, Morton, Hyde, Lee, Korkidas, Rinaldi, P Johnson, Morrison, Henderson, Howarth. Substitutes: Mariano, King, Amor, Wildie.

Castleford Tigers: Mathers, Dixon, Isa, Arundel, Owen, Chase, Orr, Fozzard, Hudson, Emmitt, Holmes, Ferres, Snitch. Substitutes: Massey, Thompson, Widders, Clark.

Referee: R Silverwood (Mirfield).