Widnes duo Paddy Flynn and Chris Clarkson injured in Salford defeat
Last Updated: 27/03/15 10:57am
Widnes suffered two further injury blows as they were hammered 36-8 by Salford in their Super League clash at the AJ Bell Stadium on Thursday night.
The Vikings were already without seven injured regulars and lost winger Paddy Flynn (hamstring) and forward Chris Clarkson (thumb) during the game, while they also suffered the effects of playing their second game in five days as they faded in the second half.
"It was a tough night at the office," said coach Denis Betts. "We got got beaten across the board.
"We gave them a good start and you could see their confidence grow.
"We lost Clarkson and made a couple of changes and it just drained our energy, especially with the short turnaround. The lads looked flat in the second half."
In contrast, Salford coach Iestyn Harris was a happy man after his side moved up to fourth place in the table.
"It's early, isn't it, but you'd rather be fourth than 12th," Harris said.
"We've some tough challenges around the corner - we've got Huddersfield, Wigan and Leeds in a short space of time - and it will show where we are.
"We've just got to try and improve each week. Our home form has been pretty good, it's just about getting a few more on our travels.
"I thought we worked extremely hard for each other, better than we've done so far this season.
"They looked like they were enjoying it at the back end of the game and that's important. You've got to enjoy rugby to be at your best and I thought we enjoyed it today.
"It was pleasing to be very solid defensively because that's something we've been working hard on.
"I thought there some good performances from our new players. Dobbo (Michael Dobson) had his best game by far - his relationship with Rangi (Chase) is going to develop - and I thought Kevin (Locke) had his best game for the club. He wanted to get the ball in his hands and he was terrific."
