Super League: Widnes end losing streak against St Helens
Widnes beat St Helens 35-28 at Langtree Park to record their first ever Super League success over their opponents.
Last Updated: 03/05/13 11:37pm
The Vikings' success was their first ever over their rivals in Super League, while Nathan Brown's struggling Saints have now not registered a victory since beating Castleford on Easter Monday.
The visitors ran in three tries in a five-minute spell to go 28-12 ahead at the break and despite their best efforts, Saints could not find a way back.
Both teams were missing key players through injury but it was Widnes who coped the better of the two; Jack Owens starred as a stand-in for Rhys Hanbury at full-back, scoring two tries and also kicking four goals.
Debut try
Saints actually went ahead after only three minutes when Luke Thompson marked his home debut with a try from Tony Puletua's pass, Tommy Makinson converting.
Although Widnes levelled with a converted score from Steve Pickersgill, the hosts moved ahead again when Anthony Laffranchi ran onto a perfectly-weighted kick from Nathan Ashe.
From then on, though, the Vikings dominated the rest of the half; Owens raced past Ashe and Paul Wellens on an angled run to score and they moved ahead for the first time with a try from Jon Clarke.
Joe Mellor's darting break sent Stefan Marsh over and the scorer then turned provider for their next try, putting the impressive Owens through for a score that the youngster also converted.
Saints were jeered off at half-time but gave themselves some hope when Ade Gardner, back from suspension, had a walk-in try after 47 minutes with Makinson converting off the touchline.
Yet Widnes responded in fine style, Mellor latching onto Kevin Brown's kick as Widnes took a 34-18 lead just before the hour mark.
Puletua's powerful finish gave St Helens some hope, only for it to be extinguished by Danny Craven landing a drop goal in the 76th minute to make the gap too big with so little time remaining.
Although Alex Walmsley crashed over it was no more than a consolation for Saints, though there was little positive to take out of a fifth straight defeat that leaves them clinging on to eighth place in the table.