Victory at Widnes : Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:03 pm
See match report below from Widnes website 
WIDNES VIKINGS 8 v 10 LEIGH CENTURIONS - Friday 10th April
Match Synopsis
A bitterly hard-fought contest ended in the most dramatic fashion as Leigh grabbed a last-minute score to snatch victory right at the death.
The Vikings will be kicking themselves for letting slip a game that, for the most part, they looked in no real danger of losing.
It was especially disappointing as the decisive score came directly from Widnes giving up possession on the second tackle of what should have been a set that got them away from their own line when Paddy Flynn was tackled into touch on a break out of defence.
From the resulting scrum Leigh were able to fashion an opening for full-back Ian Mort who did well to get the ball down under pressure. He then kicked the conversion from close to the posts to seal victory.
The hour mark had come and gone with Widnes leading 8-0 and Leigh showing no real signs that they were going to get back into the match, but the momentum swung in the visitors' favour on 62 minutes when Jamie Durbin's long pass allowed Stuart Donlan the room to get over and reduce the deficit to 8-4.
Widnes had a chance to make the game safe on 70 minutes when they couldn't engineer enough of an opening on the last tackle and Dean Gaskell was forced into touch on the corner flag.
With 78 minutes gone Leigh looked to have lost their last chance when they spilled possession inside the Widnes `20, but in breaking out of defence wide on the right, Flynn was forced over the touchline to give Leigh a last shot which they gratefully accepted.
The first half was constantly interrupted by the referee's whistle and both sides were able to exert pressure on the back of several decisions in their favour.
The only try of the half, in fact, came after Widnes had been able to stay on the front foot thanks to a string of penalties, and they opened their account when Anthony Thackeray produced a smart inside ball for Loz Wildbore and the full-back's pace did the rest.
Gavin Dodd converted and Widnes were 6-0 up after nine minutes.
After such a start in seemed inconceivable that it would remain that way for the rest of the half, but try as they might neither side could get across the whitewash.
Leigh came closest when substitute Dave Armistead was thwarted by a mighty effort from the Widnes defenders to keep him from grounding the ball. On the very next play Lee Marsh's stab to the corner just eluded Nick Stanton.
Widnes made several promising half-breaks, but nothing that really threatened to open Leigh up completely.
At the start of the second half, Widnes were awarded a penalty for ball stealing in front of the posts and elected to take the shot at goal which Dodd knocked over, and the eight-point lead was a healthy one in the context of the way the game had gone.
Unfortunately in the last quarter it proved not to be enough. After the match coach Paul Cullen said: "We've put a lot of energy into the match and come away with nothing.
"The group continues to give away needless penalties, sometimes consecutively, and that has to be a concern. You can't win games without the ball.
"We've given the ball away and paid the ultimate price."
WIDNES: Wildbore, Flynn, Varkulis, Dodd, Gaskell, Thackeray, Webster; Ostick, Smith, Gannon, Doran, Simm, Duffy. Subs: Kavanagh, Thompson, Yates, Grady.
Tries: Wildbore
Goals: Dodd (2)
LEIGH: Mort, Stanton, Donlan, Reay, Maden, Marsh, Watson; Hobson, McConnell, Hill, Higson, Taylor, Haggerty. Subs: Morrison, Armistead, Durbin, Meekin.
Tries: Donlan, Mort.
Goals: Mort.
Referee: Mr R Laughton. Att: 4,354.
