Sponsored by
Widnes Vikings 28 Halifax RLFC 30: Plenty more to come - Calland
HALIFAX boss Matt Calland steered his side to a stunning Co operative Championship win at title rivals Widnes and promptly insisted his side are still nowhere near finding top form.
Fax triumphed 30-28 at the Halton Stadium, with two tries in the last 10 minutes from Shad Royston and Sean Penkywicz, both converted by stand off Luke Branighan, to maintain their 100 per cent league record.
But it was a result that looked unlikely early on as the visitors struggled to shake off the rust that has dogged their early season form.
"We'll take the win, but I'm not that happy with the performance," said Calland, who saw his side have three tries ruled out, two by the video referee and one by match official Robert Hicks.
"I thought both teams will want to play a lot better than that, but it is early in the season and I am sure they will both improve.
"We were very slow out of the blocks and we didn't stick to the plan at all in that opening half hour.
"When we had all those chances and we didn't take them I didn't think it was going to be our day, but we showed great character and commitment to hang in there until the end and get the win."
The introduction of Mark Gleeson was a major factor in turning the game Fax's way, but it was the omission of another playmaker, Bob Beswick, that caught the eye before the game.
The ex-Widnes star was left out to accommodate Anthony Bowman, who duly set up Royston's late score.
"It was a big call to leave Bob out, but he's professional enough to know that he can't be in the team every week," said Calland, who confirmed the Ireland international would return for this weekend's re-arranged Northern Rail Cup game against Hunslet at the Shay.
"I thought Anthony showed some nice touches, including setting up that try.
"Bob will play hooker against Hunslet on Sunday and put the pressure on Penkywicz and Gleeson, who I thought was excellent, for that spot. We can't afford to relax for that game, but we had five or six players who didn't play tonight and we'll change things around a bit to keep people fresh."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Halifax
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: 0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
