Leigh Centurions 32

Widnes Vikings 26

ANY hopes of a Vikings' victory were dashed in the final quarter of an ill-tempered game as three Widnes players were dismissed by the man we had all come to watch, or so he thought, Colin Morris.

He also sin-binned three players, Mark Hewitt, Chris Percival and Leigh's Anthony Murray, whilst lecturing virtually every player on the pitch during the 80 minutes.

He also took time off to talk to the head steward as missiles were thrown at the Widnes players and it was no surprise that the game overran by 20 minutes.

Widnes didn't help themselves, however, and the dismissals of Shane Wilson and Damian Munro for dissent showed a lack of discipline although their frustration was understandable as the referee lost control of the game.

The game was going well for the Vikings who had a six point advantage with just 20 minutes remaining.

Then it all went wrong.

Wilson's crunching tackle on Patel rattled the Leigh stand-off and, following the play-the-ball, a push by Wilson saw the referee reach for the yellow card, but the Australian's comments saw yellow become red.

A tackle from Gildart beneath the posts earned him a red card and although the referee signalled for the touch judges to take up their positions for a penalty kick, Leigh ran the ball and were allowed to!

With seven minutes remaining Widnes finally succumbed as Dickinson touched down, Wingfield lacking his first conversion but fifth goal. Another penalty kick gave Leigh the lead and with a three man advantage, Wingfield added a try in injury time. and as the hooter went the referee opted for the safety of the main stand, choosing not to make his way down the tunnel where the Widnes fans had gathered, eventually returning to the dressing rooms 20 minutes later.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.