In this N F P match played on 20 Feb 2000 at Auto Quest Stadium , the referee was Peter Taberner (Wigan), and 3058 people watched. In quite mild and sunny weather, the half time score was 16- 2, and Widnes received 8 penalties to Barrow's 7.		GAMESTAR Phil Cantillon
Widnes Vikings	17
Barrow Border Raiders	10

WIDNES DRAG OUT A WIN

This was by no means an inspired performance, but it was two points in the bag at a time when Widnes can't afford to drop off the pace.
As it is, Widnes are nicely poised to use their game in hand to take third place in the league. Another point is that winning their two games in hand with sufficient points in the bag will give Widnes a place in the Trans-pennine Cup Final. Whether the Trans-pennine cup final is a good thing or not, I'll take it if it means Widnes have kept on winning.
A look at the NFP fair play league will show that Barrow are one of the dirtiest teams around, and that's the way they played in this match. Unfortunately, the comically embarrassing (see later) Peter Taberner decided to let Barrow get away with foul after foul. The penalty count shows that they were on a par with Widnes, but this just wasn't a fair reflection on the game. At every opportunity they threw punches, tackled high, held down, flopped... I could go on, but I'd sound like another bitter & twisted fan.
Early exchanges showed Widnes to be the better side, with George Mann showing more energy than of late, and Cheetham and Fitzpatrick showing an eagerness to work.
Simon Verbickas confounded his critics by breaking the defence and sprinting almost the length of the pitch, and although the subsequent Barrow fists went unpunished, the complaining didn't last for long. The ball was sent swiftly across the field and Steve Gee gratefully accepted a short ball to dart over the line.
The next try was another Gee nip-through after Phil Cantillon had broken the Cumbrian line. If Widnes can provide some attacking support to this man, the tries will be plentiful.
The quality of the game suffered a downward spiral after that, with fighting and spoiling rearing their heads time after time. But it was the visitors' eagerness to scrap that saw a mass brawl develop just inside the Barrow half. As Widnes began a move, the entire right hand side of the Barrow defence joined in a scuffle. So when Phil Cantillon scorched past the skirmish with the ball in his hands and saw off the scrambling cover, it was just desserts for their lack of professionalism.
Widnes failed to score in the second half as the game descended into farce. When their one-man band Darren Holt scored a lunging individual try, it brought the Border Raiders to within a try of squaring the match, but Holt had to leave the field injured. Any thoughts of a Barrow collapse were unfounded as Tane Manihera took the cue to change his approach totally. He ran and passed as if it were his last game, and he constantly forced Widnes on to the back foot.
There were one or two bright spots for the Vikings, but they were stifled by bad handling and tactical confusion. Mann visibly tired as the game went on, and Karl Fitzpatrick crowned a good showing with a long-range drop goal attempt late on. The ball went high but dipped as it flew towards the uprights. Nearby fans groaned as it fell short and flew under the crossbar, but the unsighted North stand cheered. I think it was this cheering that swayed Taberner's decision to award the goal as Barrow players complained and Widnes fans laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

Widnes were the better side, I felt, but Manihera and Holt outperformed their counterparts on the day. In fact, if these two had any decent players to unleash, the scoreline could have been very, very different.

WIDNES

1. Damien Munro
2. Andy Cheetham
3. Chris Percival
4. Danny Myler
5. Simon Verbickas
6. Paul Mansson
7. Karl Fitzpatrick
8. Cliff Eccles
9. Phil Cantillon
10. George Mann
11. Steve Gee
12. Dave Smith
13. David Hulme
14. Afi Leuila
15. Lee Hansen
16. Mick Hill
17. Gareth Adams