Widnes Vikings 8 Featherstone Rovers 9: Finn lands drop goal to put Rovers back on top
It took a Liam Finn drop goal two minutes from time to separate these two sides and take Rovers back to the top of the Championship with their 100 per cent record intact.
They had lead 8-0, but when Matty Dale was sin-binned early in the second half Widnes drew level.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIt was a different story at the start of the game with Finn's bomb finding Jessie Joe Parker and the centre went in at the corner.
Briggs missed the conversion but they doubled the score in the 28th minute. It was another Finn bomb, this time missed by Shaun Ainscough, a dual-registered player from Wigan, and then Finn and Briggs sent in Andy Kain with Briggs again missing from straight in front.
Iain Morrison was held up on the line, before Lee Doran failed to play the ball properly on the Rovers line at the other end.
On the stroke of half time Doran had a long lecture from the referee for a high tackle of Tommy Saxton, but Briggs failed to hit the target once more. With six minutes of the second half played Dale was sin-binned for holding down after James Webster and Doran had broken away down the right and from the penalty, the ball was quickly switched right to left with Matt Gardner going in at the corner, the angle too great for Shane Grady's conversion.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdRovers never recovered, when they were forced to drop out and allowed Paddy Flynn to go in at the corner with again Grady off target.
Finn attempted a drop goal that drifted wide in the 75th minute but two minutes from time he made no mistake to give Rovers the points.
Widnes: Ford, Ainscough, Kohe-Love, Gardner, Flynn, Thackeray, Webster, James, Netherton, Gannon, Doran, Grady, Gerrard. Substitutes: Varkulis, Allen, Kavanagh, Davies.
Featherstone: Hardman, Saxton, Welham, Parker, Hardaker, Briggs, Finn, Dickens, Kaye, Tonks, Manning, Field, Dale. Substitutes: A. Kain, Allan, Morrison, Divorty.
Referee: J Leahy (RLF).