IT seemed inevitable in the end.
A sucker punch grew increasingly likely with Warrington Wolves having six-point leads reeled in four times by Wakefield Trinity at Belle Vue.
And it duly came four minutes from time, with Kelepi Tanginoa powering through England internationals Ben Currie, Daryl Clark and Mike Cooper for a try that Wire head coach Daryl Powell felt should have been stopped.
The score was all the more sickening as it followed moments after debutant Tom Mikaele had successfully charged down Jacob Miller's drop-goal attempt, giving Wakefield another six tackles.
And it came soon after Connor Wrench had looked certain to cash in on a break from the scheming George Williams but for an incredible one-handed diving tackle by scrambling Wakefield winger Lewis Murphy.
Defence was a big issue again throughout the game though and there were three other tries conceded on Wire's troublesome left.
The Wire were cut open down the middle, too, with three clean breaks by forwards in the first half, and they brought extra defensive workload on themselves with a stack of handling errors.
Despite those misgivings, they struck with some sucker punches of their own by often soaking up pressure and then going down to the other end of the field and scoring.
Matty Ashton's 90-metre interception try was an example of that to put The Wire 24-18 in front.
While Williams' performance was nowhere near perfect, including two passes into touch and some poor kicking, he was the man who was making things happen with the ball.
It was his willingness to take on the line that led to opportunities arising, most noticeably the opening try from dummy half by Daryl Clark, and he helped to orchestrate some fine shape out wide for the tries scored by Gareth Widdop and Connor Wrench.
Williams does not generally grab headlines for his defensive work, but some of his reads and big hits in the first half prevented Trinity from getting on an early roll from their mountains of possession.
This should certainly be seen as a chance missed to end the losing sequence, which now stretches to five matches.
And with that an opportunity to ease some of the pressure on themselves and the fury from fans also goes begging.
WATCH THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS HERE:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel