Widnes Reach NL1 Show Down

The Vikings lost out to the Robins in the first qualifying semi-final last week, but were in no mood to miss out on their second chance to reach the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

However it was ‘Haven who opened the scoring through Spencer Miller after just two minutes, but tries from Mark Smith, Damien Blanch and Gavin Dodd gave Widnes a commanding lead.

The visitors were not going to cave in without a fight however; a suspicious-looking touch down from Leroy Joe bringing them back into contention, but an equally contentious try from John Gleeson seemed to wrap things up for the Vikings.

However ‘Haven hit back with scores from David Seeds and Miller to ensure a nervy finale, but Widnes were able to hang on to their four point lead, securing a 24-20 win.

In NL2 it was Swinton Lions who made their way through to the play-off final to face Sheffield Eagles courtesy of a narrow win over Celtic Crusaders.

It was a tense clash in Bridgend in which the sides went in at half time level at 10-10, finishing the game still locked at 26-26, eventually separated by a Chris Hough in golden-point extra time.

Meanwhile, Hemel Hempstead Stags defeated Warrington Wizards 27-16 to set up a tie with Bramley Buffaloes in the NL3 Grand Final.