Cas win away at last

Castleford have recorded their first away win in Super League for two years after scoring a 36-28 victory against Warrington at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

It was, on balance, a deserved win for the Tigers, who largely controlled the game, albeit aided by a Warrington defence described by Sky Sports' very own Mike Stephenson as "woeful".

The visitors scored three tries in the first half to go into the break with a four-point lead. Warrington responded by scoring three quick tries of their own early in the second half - Cas's cause not helped by the sin-binning of Ned Catic.

Heading into the final quarter, Castleford were 28-14 behind and down and out. However, with Catic back on the field - and with Warrington's defence once again woeful - four late tries left Wolves fans calling for the head of coach Paul Cullen.

Warrington went into the clash missing only Rob Parker apart from long-term casualties Chris Bridge, Stuart Reardon, Paul Wood and Paul Johnson.

Castleford were without first-choice half-backs Anthony Thackeray and Brent Sherwin with Ryan McGoldrick and Luke Dorn switching positions to plug the gap.

The Wolves' defensive woes centred on their habit of hanging back and allowing Castleford to attack, with Peter Lupton crossing the line for the Tigers after three minutes - but dropping the ball.

On the strength of their play it was a deserved lead Castleford took after five minutes - the ball being fed to the left flank, where winger Wolves winger Chris Riley failed to pick up Richard Owen.

Joe Westerman missed the extras and still Castleford pressed forward; they also showed stout work in defence, with Riley being bundled into touch in the 16th minute after Warrington won a penalty deep in Tigers' territory.

Castleford's next set brought their second score, with a fine - if unintentional - offload from Stuart Donlan setting up Westerman, who in turn fed Michael Shenton on the overlap.

Fightback

Westerman this time found the target, and suddenly Warrington found themselves looking at a 10-point deficit. The fightback started in the 24th minute, after Lupton knocked on in front of his own line, with Vinnie Anderson taking a direct route to score.

Hicks converted and three minutes later the sides were level when Lee Briers' chip kick found Riley, who fended off Dorn before crossing.

Hicks could not make it two out of two and the home side could have taken the lead following Briers' break in the 35th minute. Michael Monaghan then made his first real contribution of the game, feeding Martin Gleeson.

However, the centre was always stretching for the ball under the posts and instead knocked on.

A score then might have made the difference for the Wolves. Instead it was Castleford who went into the break ahead, with good hands between Westerman and Shenton setting up Adam Fletcher on the overlap for a simple score.

Westerman could not convert but Castleford nevertheless deserved to be 14-10 ahead at half time. Vinnie Anderson almost levelled once more after he ran on to Briers' 42nd-minute kick, but good anticipation in defence from Fletcher saw him denied.

Instead, it was Riley who levelled with his second of the match - and second of 2008 - the Tigers' defence caught out by a dummy run before the winger crossed comfortably.

Hicks converted to put Warrington into the lead for the first time. The ubiquitous Riley tracked back to halt a Dorn break moments later, with more evidence of the turning tide coming when Catic was sin-binned in the 51st-minute for persistent interference.

Breathing space

A looping pass from Monaghan found Kevin Penny for Warrington's fourth two minutes later and, with Hicks converting, the Wolves finally managed to place some breathing space between themselves and their opponents.

With the ball having been spilled by both Briers and two Tigers defenders, Hicks picked up a loose ball to cross five minutes later.

But Catic then returned to the fray and, with Castleford back up to their full complement, Michael Wainwright crossed in the right-hand corner for their fourth of the evening.

Westerman failed to convert but the comeback was well-and-truly on with their next set - McGoldrick breaking and selling a dummy before passing to Dorn, who sprinted clear to touch down.

Westerman this time found the target and, with ten minutes remaining, Castleford were only four points behind. Unbelievably the scores were soon level once more - Warrington's defence nowhere as Donlan sprinted over.

Craig Huby converted and the closing minutes saw Warrington pile on the pressure in an effort to overcome the two-point deficit.

However, Monaghan's pass right to Briers was instead intercepted by Dorn, Warrington's half-back sinking to his knees and looking on as Castleford's stand-in half-back sprinted away to seal the win.