Super League: Wakefield Trinity Wildcats hold off Widnes Vikings
Wakefield boosted their play-off hopes at Widnes' expense with a 28-26 victory over the Vikings at Stobart Stadium.
Last Updated: 27/04/13 4:34pm
The win in an entertaining and see-saw contest sees the Wildcats leap-frog Widnes into 10th place in the Super League table.
Wakefield went ahead after just 38 seconds as Dean Collis broke down the left and kicked inside, with Paul Aiton scooping up the loose ball under pressure and racing to the sticks. Paul Sykes converted.
Widnes were level inside four minutes when Kevin Brown's grubber kick bounced wickedly past Lee Smith and the stand-off touched down, with Patrick Ah Van converting.
Gareth Hock crashed over but lost the ball as he tried to touch down and moments later Tim Smith's outrageous dummy at the other end took him over for a try which Sykes again turned into six points.
Tim Smith then turned creator as his no-look pass enabled Sykes to put Ben Cockayne in at the corner, although this time Sykes missed the kick.
Cockayne had a score chalked off for a knock-on and Widnes finished the half the stronger, Joe Mellor's try from a Rhys Hanbury kick - again missed by Lee Smith - making the score 16-12 to the visitors at the break.
Two tries in 10 minutes briefly put Widnes on top, the first coming when Ah Van did superbly to flick Brown's kick back into play as he headed into touch, with Brown on hand to collect and score.
Quick hands
Moments later quick hands down the short side put Chris Dean in at the corner, but Ah Van missed both kicks and the lead was just two.
So when Tim Smith and Sykes combined to set up Lee Smith, Sykes' conversion edged Wakefield ahead once more.
Just past the hour Oliver Wilkes bounced off two tacklers and raced 30 metres to score and although Lee Smith missed the conversion, the former Leeds man knocked over a penalty with seven minutes left after a Ben Cross high shot.
That proved crucial as Phil Joseph's powerful run for a last-minute try and Brown's conversion came too late to affect the outcome.