Batley Bulldogs lose way in second half in tough day at Widnes
After a battling first half display Batley Bulldogs were unable to continue their good work as they fell to a 30-10 defeat at Widnes Vikings’ DCBL Stadium.
John Kear’s men were only six points behind at the break, but were unable to make inroads in a second half in which their hosts outscored them three tries to one.
Vikings made a bright start and were ahead on eight minutes when Ben Condon burst down the right touchline, beating two defenders before finding Will Roberts in support to cross the line.
Condon then went from hero to villain as he was shown a yellow card for off-the-ball contact on Aidan McGowan.
But although they forced pressure in the 10 minutes ahead the home defence held firm.
Ironically, however, shortly after Condon’s return, Batley came up with their first try when Emmanuel Waine broke the line and beat the full-back to power over for a try he converted.
It remained 6-6 until five minutes to half-time as Widnes struck with a well worked try finished by Joe Edge after he linked with Jon Bennison for a length-of-the-field score. Roberts’ second conversion made it 12-6.
The first score after the break was always going to be crucial and it went to the Vikings nine minutes in when Dec Patton finished off another good move that had seen the ball moved from one side of the pitch to the other.
Max Roberts came close to another home try, but could not collect Patton’s kick with the line open.
He made up for the missed opportunity on 66 minutes, however, combining with brother Will to send Morgan McWhirter over.
The game had got away from them, but Batley kept going and were rewarded with their second try. It was a spectacular effort as Jack Render intercepted an Edge pass to race fully 60 metres to score in the corner.
Widnes had the final word, though, when Matt Fleming showed great footwork to pave the way for a try five minutes from time.
Will Roberts kicked his fifth conversion from five attempts to complete the scoring and the hosts had their second successive win to keep alive their play-offs hopes while the Bulldogs remain second from bottom. They are still four points above Hunslet and are level on points with Sheffield Eagles, but are four adrift of tenth-placed London Broncos with five games remaining.