Wolves earn their luck in a thrilling win

AT last - a crucial refereeing decision goes Wolves' way!

It came as a great relief to Paul Cullen, who had seen controversial incidents play their part in three recent defeats, and it allowed Wolves to gain the sort of win that suggests they are well on the way to recovery.

The key moment in Sunday's thrilling 'derby' came with just two minutes remaining and the scores tied at 20-20.

Wigan had already missed two drop goal attempts, with Danny Orr's effort coming back off a post, while Andy Bracek's ankle tap had thwarted a rampant Mark Calderwood.

But Lee Briers darted past Danny Tickle at the other end and Michael Sullivan lined up a drop goal from the next tackle.

His foot was already making its way towards the ball when the recovering - and offside - Tickle clattered into the back of him.

Confusion reigned for a few seconds before referee Richard Silverwood awarded a penalty.

It was a simple enough kick for Briers, although Bracek helpfully piled the pressure on his skipper by telling him: "Whatever you do Briersy, don't miss this one."

That he did not miss was reward for another impressive display of talent and leadership, as well as compensation for the critical injury-time penalty miss in the home defeat against Wakefield five weeks earlier.

It also came against a Wigan side coached by Brian Noble the man who admitted he had fuelled Briers' fire for the match by leaving him out of the Great Britain squad.

Cullen felt Ben Westwood was another who could merit international selection after a gutsy display in conditions that were hot in more ways than one.

Spurred on by a boisterous capacity crowd - around 200 Wigan fans without tickets had to be locked out - the game was played at a frantic pace throughout by two determined teams.

Wolves looked in control until their failure to deal with two kicks in the early stages of the second half allowed Wigan to level the scores.

Paul Wood's try appeared to have won it but Chris Ashton soon cancelled that out, before the frenetic finale that ended Wigan's five-match winning run and gave Wolves two wins over their rivals in one season for the first time since 1987/88.

Match facts.

engage Super League XI Round 22, July 23, 2006.

Warrington Wolves 22 Wigan Warriors 20.

Wolves: Stuart Reardon; Henry Fa'afili, Martin Gleeson, Toa Kohe-Love, Brent Grose; Chris Bridge, Lee Briers; Chris Leikvoll, Michael Sullivan, Paul Wood, Logan Swann, Mike Wainwright, Ben Westwood. Subs used: Rob Parker, Mark Gleeson, Andy Bracek, Richie Barnett.

Warriors: Chris Ashton; Mark Calderwood, Kris Radlinski, Nathan McAvoy, Brett Dallas; Danny Orr, Michael Dobson; Iafeta Palea'aesina, Mickey Higham, Stuart Fielden, Bryan Fletcher, Gareth Hock, Sean O'Loughlin. Subs used: Scott Logan, Wayne Godwin, Danny Tickle, Harrison Hansen.

Referee: Richard Silverwood.

Scoring: Dobson lands 20m penalty after a high tackle, 2mins, 0-2; Martin Gleeson nips past McAvoy after being fed by a fast-starting Sullivan, 6mins, 4-2; Kohe-Love surges past O'Loughlin after Grose had inadvertently knocked Briers' chip into his path, 12mins, Briers converts, 10-2; Briers kicks penalty after Wigan had been caught offside, 47mins, 12-2; Tickle is the lucky recipient as Orr's grubber somehow evades the Wolves defence after Ashton's ball steal from Reardon, 50mins, Dobson goals, 12-8; Briers lands penalty after being the victim of a late tackle, 58mins, 14-8; O'Loughlin snatches Dobson's kick a split second before the napping Reardon can intercept, 61mins, Dobson goals, 14-14; Wood surges past Palea'aesina and Ashton from dummy half after Grose's break had moved Wolves into position, 66mins, Briers goals, 20-14; Calderwood dashes past Wainwright before supplying Ashton for a breakaway try, 70mins, Dobson converts, 20-20; Briers kicks the decisive 15m penalty after Sullivan's drop goal attempt had been foiled by the offside Tickle, 78mins, 22-20.

Pens: Wolves 5 Warriors 4.

Scrums: Wolves 5 Warriors 11.

Attendance: 13,024.

Warrington Guardian top men: Briers 3pts, Westwood 2pts, Sullivan 1pt.

Interesting note: Mike Wainwright was making his 200th appearance for Warrington.

Results and fixtures.

Other Round 21 results: Catalans 26 Salford 6, Harlequins 18 Hull 16, Huddersfield 34 Castleford 10, Leeds 14 St Helens 18, Wakefield 20 Bradford 42.

Powergen Challenge Cup semi final fixture for Saturday: Hull KR v St Helens (Galpharm Stadium, BBC 12.30pm). Sunday: Huddersfield v Leeds (Odsal, BBC 3pm).