Rochdale 33, Widnes 10: FATE dealt Widnes a cruel hand at Rochdale after they had performed with plenty of conviction and spirit on their North Two West travels.

Two pieces of ill luck near the end finally took the game away from the visitors after they had displayed determination and spirit.

The scoreline flattered Rochdale and did not reflect the effort put in by a battling Heath Road outfit.

Fielding a much-changed line-up because of injury, Widnes began brightly but fell behind to two Roch-dale penalties, before a converted try extended the home lead.

Down 11-0, the visitors mounted a comeback - a penalty and then a converted try from full-back Glover cutting the deficit to just one point.

However, during the six minutes of added time, the home side grabbed a converted try for an 18-10 interval advantage.

The second half also started prom-isingly for Widnes, but they were hampered by a lack of quality possession when and where it mattered.

The match was still in the balance until the closing minutes when Rochdale, capitalising on their two instances of good fortune, scored twice against the run of play to finally take the game away from the visitors.

Widnes' attitude throughout the game was superb and Paul Borg, Nick Fellows and Johannes Lamp-recht all impressed, while Alex Gardiner's defensive work in the three-quarters was outstanding.

This Saturday, Widnes have a break from league action - taking on Oldershaw in the cup before resuming service as normal a week later at home to Stockport.

Widnes 2nd 5 Winnington Park 7:

Widnes paid the price for conceding a penalty 15 metres from their own line in the dying seconds.

A Winnington Park forward mauled over for the decisive, converted try in a fiercely-competitive match.

Wids had started with just the bare minimum 15 players.

Former first-team coach Andy Ruane had made himself available and was influential at stand-off for the hosts.

Widnes opted for an early tap penalty instead of going for a kickable goal in the first 10 minutes, and it was a decision they were to regret.

But the return of captain Preston brought stability at set-pieces while the Widnes forwards did well against a much heavier pack.

Hodge and Loughnane dominated the lineouts.

But defences stood firm and it needed a monster effort for Widnes to get over the try line.

Three solid drives were completed to Winnington's five-metre area before Simon Duffy burst through a scattered defence to score under the sticks. The conversion unfortunately failed.

Ruane created several scoring opportunities for the backs but the visiting defence kept the Wids at bay.

Full-back McGeiver continually made his presence felt with his running and tactical kicking, but still the hosts could not get through.

Their agony was underlined as Park's only score of the match was enough to win it.

This Saturday sees home cup action for Wids 2nd against Waterloo (ko 3pm).

Widnes 3rd 39 Ellesmere Port 17:

A late reshuffle did nothing to unsettle Widnes, who made a convincing start to their season with a fine victory.

The Wids wasted no time in going on to attack and they soon had a healthy lead.

A penalty goal paved the way for tries from Gill, Riley and man-ofthe match Steve Hodgson.

Centre Geoff Owens followed the trio across the line before Port responded with a well-worked try on the stroke of half-time.

The second half was more evenly-balanced with the visiting pack denying the home side possession.

Port were rewarded with two more tries.

In between, however, Colin Parr had stretched the hosts further after good work from Goulding, Syers and centre Dave Breeden.

Graham Riley's trusty right boot completed the scoring.