Warrington 28 St Benedicts 26

A LAST-GASP John Gilooly penalty allowed Warrington to continue their good form and repel a St Benedicts comeback on Saturday.

Andy Roberts’ side led 22-0 with half an hour to play at Walton Lea Road but a late charge from the visitors left them in danger of defeat until Gilooly’s late intervention.

The result, Warrington’s third win in four matches either side of the Christmas break, sees them sit seventh in the North One West table.

Warrington flew out of the traps and, after good work at the scrum by Sean Hughes, full-back Pat Roberts sliced through a narrow gap to touch down.

Roberts was involved in his side’s second try when his perfectly-weighted kick allowed Max Caldwell to collect and scoot over, with Gilooly adding the conversion.

With Warrington’s defence holding firm against some pressure from the visitors, they exerted themselves at the other end again when Gilooly’s penalty was followed by Clem O’Rourke’s first try for the club, with the conversion giving the hosts a commanding 22-0 lead at half-time.

However, they did not bank on a St Benedicts fightback and, after scoring their first try ten minutes after the interval, they laid siege to the Warrington line.

Two more converted scores followed to reduce the hosts’ lead to just one point, with Gilooly kicking a penalty to give them a bit of breathing space.

That was cancelled out, however, as St Benedicts crossed for a fourth try to give them the lead for the first time in the match.

It seemed to be a fatal blow, but Warrington were awarded a last-minute penalty and Gilooly kept his cool to slot it over and seal the nerviest of victories.

Warrington’s improved recent form will face its biggest test on Saturday when they travel to league leaders Kirkby Lonsdale, kick off 2.15pm.