FULL TIME, PICTURES ADDED: Warrington Wolves 22 Wigan Warriors 12

Wolves reduced the gap between themselves and the league leaders to four points after edging a breathless and hugely entertaining clash at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, which was won in the final 10 minutes by Micky Higham and Chris Hill’s quick fire double after Wigan had looked sure to scrape a victory.

A tense finale never seemed likely after the first half, when a brilliant Wolves side used their speed and guile to cause Wigan problems and take a 10-0 lead into the break courtesy of Ben Westwood and Joel Monaghan’s tries.

But if Wolves shaded the first half, Wigan turned the game on its head immediately after the break. Shaun Wane’s side flew out of the blocks to take a 12-10 lead on 50 minutes thanks to tries from Sam Tomkins and Anthony Gelling and set up an end-to-end thriller that had the 14,028-strong crowd on the edge of their seats until the very end.

It was a tense opening, too, in which Wigan looked the most likely to score as Sam Tomkins’ probing grubber was fielded by Brett Hodgson for a goal-line drop-out. Luckily Matty Smith’s knock on coughed up field position and moments later, as Paul Wood’s huge hit reverberated around the stadium, Wolves’ vocal home support lifted another notch.

Wolves’ speed around the ruck caused Wigan problems throughout the first half, and it was from Wigan’s first concession of a penalty for holding down that the hosts struck. Hodgson was held inches short on the right, before Myler’s offload nearly sent Paul Wood bustling over to the left of the posts. But Wigan could not keep Wolves at bay for long, and Micky Higham and Lee Briers combined to send Ben Westwood crashing over for the game’s opening try after seven minutes, with Hodgson adding the extras.

Wolves nearly struck again instantly, using their pace around the play-the-ball to leave Wigan scrambling, but Josh Charnley was able to clean up Briers’ cross-field bomb.

It was a breathless opening to a game in which no side gave an inch, and more than once Wolves’ defence had to be exemplary to keep the Super League leaders out. Tomkins’ offload sent Harrison Hansen breaking through, but Wolves’ defence was a match for them, forcing another goal-line drop-out before Tomkins was held up brilliantly over the line.

At the other end another penalty almost allowed Hodgson to touch down, but it was in defence where Wolves were really showing their mettle. After Westwood conceded a penalty on the right, it took all of Wolves’ superb line defence to keep Richards out. Joel Monaghan and Briers combined to hold him up, before Briers immediately popped up with a vital intercept to relieve the pressure.

Then came a huge five-minute spell, with another penalty sending Wolves up the pitch to test Wigan once again. Joel Monaghan was dragged into touch, before Tom Spencer’s knock on gave Wolves a gift of a set on Wigan’s 20m line. Wolves could not take advantage though, and instead Ryan Atkins gifted Wigan a penalty before making amends by stopping a scoring effort with a knock on in the left corner.

Luckily Joel Monaghan was on hand to provide more stellar defence in the subsequent play, fielding a tricky grubber and wriggling clear to prevent a goal-line drop-out and giving Ratchford the chance to win a penalty from an increasingly frustrated Tomkins. It was from this penalty that Wolves struck again, with Briers’ superb grubber beating the outstretched arm of Richards to find Monaghan in the corner. Hodgson missed the goal, but Wolves held a 10-0 lead after 30 minutes.

That lead was to last until just the second minute of the second half, when a revitalised Wigan started an outstanding 10-minute spell that turned the game on its head. Instead of sending Richie Myler racing up the field, Ben Currie’s pass went forward and from the resulting play, Wigan struck.

Unsurprisingly it was Tomkins that found his way to the line, taking Smith’s short ball at speed to race through a gap and reach out to plant the ball down. Richards’ goal reduced the visitor’s deficit to four.

But Wigan were not content with just one, instead using the ill discipline showed by Adrian Morley’s concession of back-to-back penalties for holding down and ball stripping to land a hammer blow to Wolves’ chances. Even after Atkins had cleared up the original danger, a mess at one of Wolves’ play-the-balls allowed Wigan to gain an overlap on the right and Anthony Gelling pounced to level the scores. Richards’ kick cleared the uprights to give the visitors the lead for the first time in the game on 50 minutes.

It was a tense finale, with both sides having their chances to secure the game as the play became increasingly quick and fractious. Wolves raced clear at one end only to see Charnley pluck the ball out of the air, before Wolves’ line defence was itself tested as Wigan looked to kill the game off.

Wolves’ fans thought Ryan Atkins had put them back in front on 72 minutes, when he dropped the ball over the line after breaking through a tackle five metres from Wigan’s line. Luckily they did not have to wait long, and it was some superb handling and speed, so late in a tiring game, that won it for the jubilant Wolves. Quick hands sent the ball out to Atkins and Riley, who kicked on and desperately chased as Tomkins looked to clear up. The resulting melee allowed the ball to escape and Higham charged over to send the home crowd into raptures. Hodgson’s goal gave Wolves a 16-12 lead on 75 minutes, but that was not the end of the host’s scoring.

Instead that honour fell to Chris Hill, who charged on to a short ball after fine play from the restart had forced Charnley to knock on metres from his line. Hill’s try was converted by Hodgson to end a breathless, scintillating clash, which takes Wolves two points closer to Wigan at the top of the Super League table.

Wolves: Brett Hodgson; Joel Monaghan, Stefan Ratchford, Ryan Atkins, Chris Riley; Lee Briers, Richie Myler; Paul Wood, Micky Higham, Chris Hill, Trent Waterhouse, Ben Westwood, Simon Grix. Subs: Adrian Morley, Michael Monaghan, Garreth Carvell, Ben Currie.

Wigan: Sam Tomkins; Josh Charnley, Darrell Goulding, Anthony Gelling, Pat Richards; Sam Powell, Matthew Smith; Lee Mossop, Logan Tomkins, Dominic Crosby, Harrison Hansen, Liam Farrell, Greg Burke. Subs: Jack Hughes, Chris Tuson, Tom Spencer, George Williams.