A better class of defeat

DESPITE a brave fight Lynx again failed to put up a strong enough defence, losing their 34th game as Vikings moved into fourth place in the table with a nine-try win.

Vikings' Jason Demetriou came back to haunt his former club, bagging two tries and three try-assists. But the Widnes victory was not without a struggle.

Hit by illness and injury, Lynx gave their boss Graeme West a better performance than he had perhaps expected.

Without Demetrious's strong attack and late hat-trick hero Simon Knox's experience, it might have been a different story.

At one point it seemed they would take the lead when Chris Ramsdale challenged Vikings full-back Liam Jones to a Stuart Fisher bomb, and skipper Ian Talbot had appeals for a try turned down.

But in a three-minute volley of tries for Phil Coussons and Damian Munro, Lynx's defence appeared flawed, and defeat loomed large as a frustrated Talbot was sin-binned for dissent.

Demetriou went on to thwart three attempted tackles to score a 30-metre effort before he supplied the final pass for Steve Argent.

By half-time, the Vikings were leading 24-0, but Lynx were not for giving in.

Chorley's Mike Prescott proved to be as solid as a rock in the front row, ending the bleak 355 minute run since his team's last try in competitive match play in the cup-tie against Woolston.

And Mick Farrell's sterling work brought the score to a promising 28-10.

Farrell was strong at full-back, then at stand-off, with Fisher, Talbot, Harrison and Chambers all playing well.

Despite Lynx gaining their largest haul of tries since their 38-24 loss to Barrow on Christmas Eve, it was not enough to stop Widnes securing victory away with a whirl of late points and impressive play.