Matt Whitley is congratulated after scoring his team's first try
Widnes stretched their lead at the top of Super League to two points with a 18-12 win over Wigan at the DW Stadium.
The visitors were forced to fight back from an 8-0 half-time deficit following unconverted tries from Liam Farrell and Josh Charnley. Widnes did just that, thanks to an influential performance from man of the match Rhys Hanbury and tries from Matt Whitley, Stefan Marsh and Charly Runciman.
It was Hanbury's boot that proved the difference, as Wigan outscored their opponents by three tries to two in the end, but three missed conversion from Matty Smith meant the Warriors were never in the clear.
The win puts the Vikings two points clear at the top of the standings, though have played two games more than second-place Warrington, and one more than their opponents from tonight.
The game started in tense fashion with both sides offering big hits in defence, which led to a scoreless first quarter - though Wigan arguably had the better of it. Just as Widnes looked to be coming back, Joe Mellor threw a speculative pass which was snapped up by Farrell who ran the length of the field to score in the corner.
Wigan were soon back in the danger area, and a long pass from Sarginson across the defensive line ended in the hands of Charnley who dotted down right near the touchline.
With both conversions missed from out wide, Wigan took an eight-point lead into the break.
Widnes came out with more attacking intent, and looked to have crossed early in the half, only for it to be brought back when Corey Thompson was spotted playing the ball from an offside position.
Thompson then turned villain to hero when Charnley dived over from close range and the Viking held him up over the tryline.
Eventually it was Widnes who scored first in the second half, when a series of deft touches ended with a soft pass from Mellor into the hands of Whitley running a clever line to race through.
Hanbury added the extras to make it a two-point game, but Widnes were immediately under pressure when they allowed the restart kick to bounce and Wigan claimed it. The Warriors were unable to score from the possession but when Sean O'Lochlin's kick also went unclaimed in the 53rd minute, Charnley made the visitors pay by grabbing the ball and crossing in the corner for his second.
Widnes hit back when Marsh was on the end of an overlap on the left, and following the missed conversion it was 12-10 to the home side.
But that advantage would not last long, as Runciman crossed two minutes later under the poles, and after easy conversion the Vikings had a 16-12 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
A high kick five minutes later was spilled by Dan Sarginson, and with three Widnes players bearing down on the ball Josh Manfredi dived on it from an offside position to spare his team the try. He was penalised for the indiscretion, and Hanbury called for the kicking tee, sending the ball over for a six-point lead.
Wigan were unable to edge back into the game during the ten minutes that remained, as Widnes held out for a famous win at the DW Stadium.
