Widnes win thriller to pile woe on Salford
Paddy Flynn grabbed two tries as Widnes edged out Salford 30-24 in the second game of the Magic Weekend.
The Vikings were dealt a blow when Danny Craven left the field on a stretcher inside the first minute but his half-back partner Kevin Brown rallied to set up Flynn for his first.
Lloyd White came close to scoring shortly after but Darrell Griffin was ruled to have done just enough to prevent a try after a legnthy video referee decision.
Salford’s on-form centre Junior Sa’u did incredibly well to power over Rhys Hanbury and Chris Dean to score a deserved try after a well worked attack.
Another example of slick handling followed when Logan Tomkins darted to find Rangi Chase at dummy-half. Chase had a clear sprint to the line and crossed under the sticks allowing Jake Mullaney an easy conversion for a 12-4 lead.
But the Red Devils’ defence was proving problematic with Jack Owens able to walk in for an easy try in the 22nd minute.
A Chris Dean try followed five minutes later but Danny Tickle failed to convert once again leaving the two sides tied 12-12 at the break.
Samoan second rower Harrison Hansen demonstrated his power after picking up a lose ball and barging over for the first try of the second half.
The Vikings went 18-16 ahead curtosy of White but their lead remained intact for less than a minute with Danny Williams hitting straight back.
Full-back Rhys Hanbury outpaced his opposite number Greg Eden for a long-range try and Tickle kicked from the touchline to make it 24-20.
But with Magraff Leuluai picking up an injury in the process, Widnes were left with just one fit substitute and it would be a case of if they could hang on for the remaining quarter.
Dave Allen bombed a sure try after failing to take Jack Owen’s pass but Widnes’ lead was stretched to 6 when Tickle hit a penalty goal with 11 minutes to play.
Francis Meli hit back just after Martin Gleeson had been denied by the video referee but a missed conversion left the Red Devils just two points adrift.
It proved not to matter as Flynn crossed for his second try of the afternoon to wrap the game up.