Report by Frank Grundy

A much changed Reds side struggled throughout to complete their sets and spent long stretches having to defend. Conditions were very wet making handling difficult and the Reds struggled to put any decent attacking moves together. The first score came after 17 minutes when Widnes kicked a penalty to go 0-2 up.

Widnes continued to adapt to the conditions better than Salford and it took an excellent catch from Reds winger Darren Fletcher to prevent Widnes going over. The Reds continued to be their own worst enemy, constantly coughing up possession and putting themselves under pressure. Fullback Jonny Youds mounted his own version of Custer’s Last Stand on the try line, but eventually the dam was breached on 25 minutes by the Widnes winger for a converted try. No further points were scored in a dreadful half from both sides that ended 0-8.

8 minutes into the second half Widnes increased their lead through a try by their prop forward which was converted to make the score 0-14. Still the Reds were failing to complete their sets and just could not get good field position as a result of their own errors and were without doubt their own worst enemy throughout. A superb run by Reds prop Andy Waring gave them hope, but again they squandered position when within 10 metres of the Widnes line. This passage of play was the one bright spot in a terrible game, with the Reds having shown a glimpse of what they are capable of followed by Widnes’ best move of the game, sweeping down the field with some excellent passing to score the final points of the game with an unconverted try.

The Reds simply never came to terms with a greasy ball and blustery wind, so never managed to mount any serious pressure on Widnes. A very disappointing display all round.