defeat run continues

Wigan Warriors 26

Warrington Wolves 24

WARRINGTON Wolves' 11 years of misery at the home of Wigan Warriors continued on Easter Monday thanks to a freak bounce of the ball and Nathan Wood's failure to find touch with a penalty.

The two incidents enabled Wigan to snatch victory at the death for the third Super League game on the spin between these two bitter rivals.

But Wolves will take plenty of heart from the game. They posed Wigan plenty of problems and will fancy their chances of gaining immediate revenge when the two teams lock horns in the Powergen Challenge Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

Wolves' squad rotation and minor injuries resulted in several first choice players being missing for Easter Monday's clash while Wigan were without hooker Terry Newton.

But any suggestions that Wolves would not be strong enough to be competitive were quickly dispelled and Wigan coach Mike Gregory admitted to being mightily relieved to have come away with the two points.

For Wolves looked to have their first win at Wigan in 11 years sewn up with only four minutes left on the clock.

They led by four points and were poised to gain great field position when Wood stepped up to kick for touch with a penalty. But the Aussie half back miscued his kick and Wigan went straight up the other end of the pitch to lay the platform for Danny Tickle to chance his arm with a sneaky dink over Wolves' defence.

The ball took a wicked bounce to leave Dean Gaskell clutching at thin air and Tickle was on hand to level the scores.

The spotlight then fell on Wigan skipper Andy Farrell. He made the winning contribution in Wolves' last two Super League encounters with Wigan and a confident conversion ensured he had the last laugh yet again.

However, Wolves had the chance to add another twist to the tale. Good running and superb support play put Gaskell inches from the try line but he chose to go it alone when he had support on the inside and was promptly shoved into touch.

That was Gaskell's only mistake in what was his first game since he picked up a thigh injury at Oldham on March 13. It was also his 21st birthday and he made it a day to remember by collecting Wood's high bomb to score a try on 34 minutes.

The other try scorers for Wolves, who performed far better than they had against Widnes despite dropping two kick-offs and conceding a try after losing a scrum against the feed, were Gary Hulse, Richard Varkulis - on his first Super League start for the club - and Jon Clarke.

Match facts

Tetley's Super League IX

Round Six, April 12, 2004

Wigan Warriors 26

Warrington Wolves 24

Warriors: Kris Radlinski; Martin Aspinwall, Stephen Wild, Kevin Brown, Brett Dallas; Sean O'Loughlin, Danny Orr; Terry O'Connor, Mark Smith, Craig Smith, Mick Cassidy, Gareth Hock, Andrew Farrell. Subs used: Quentin Pongia, Danny Tickle, Danny Sculthorpe, Adrian Lam.

Wolves: Daryl Cardiss; Dean Gaskell, Paul Noone, Ben Westwood, Richard Varkulis; Nathan Wood, Gary Hulse; Danny Lima, Jon Clarke, Mark Hilton, Jerome Guisset, Darren Burns, Mike Wainwright. Subs used: Matt Sturm, Warren Stevens, Mike Forshaw, Mark Gleeson.

Referee: Ian Smith

Attendance: 13,822

Interesting note: Brent Grose missed his first competitive game for more than two years on Easter Monday. He was sidelined with an ankle injury sustained against Widnes Vikings on Good Friday.

Scoring: Aspinwall goes over out wide, 13mins, 4-0. Hulse slides over, 29mins, Noone goal, 4-6. Gaskell collects Wood's high bomb, 34mins, Noone converts, 4-12. Half-time. Dallas touches down, 42mins, 8-12. Farrell penalty goal, 44mins, 10-12. Another Farrell penalty, 53mins, 12-12. Farrell again on target with the boot, 57mins, 14-12. Dallas bags his second try, 60mins, Farrell converts, 20-12. Varkulis speeds over, 66mins, Noone adds touchline conversion, 20-18. Clarke touches down, 72mins, Noone maintains his 100 per cent record with the boot, 20-24. Tickle collects his own kick to score, 77mins, Farrell converts, 26-24.

Penalties: Warriors 8 Wolves 8

Scrums: Warriors 9 Wolves 11

Warrington Guardian top men: Dean Gaskell 3pts, Daryl Cardiss 2pts, Danny Lima 1pt. Ratings will be accumulated through the year.