Joint manager Steve Akrigg was full of praise for his side's first half display as Widnes ran out 5-1 winners over Maine Road at the Halton Stadium on Saturday.

Jay Roberts opened the scoring after 12 minutes before Sam Sheen added a brace either side of the half-hour mark to put Widnes in the driving seat.

Sean Myler added a fourth before the break, with Connor Hughes' 63rd minute strike proving to be little more than a consolation for Maine Road. Substitute Chad Whyte completed the scoring with his second goal of the season two minutes from time.

Speaking after the game, Akrigg spoke of his delight after securing his first win as joint manager alongside Kev Towey.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the win today," Akrigg said.

"We flew straight out of the blocks and were 4-0 up at half-time. It could have been more to be honest. In the second half, we dropped off a bit, conceded before scoring another ourselves but there was a point where we could have been well out of sight.

"I can't be too harsh on the lads though as 5-1 is a great result.

"In the last three games, we've only really showed what we've been capable of in the second half, finding ourselves behind before fighting back.

"This time, we got ourselves ahead in a great position. It's then a case of challenging the lads to be ruthless and maintain the performance levels.

"We did that to a certain extent. We dropped off but once they scored, we got back on it and could have had a couple more goals but I'm happy with 5-1."

Akrigg heaped praise on new signing Jack Banister who impressed on his Widnes debut after completing a move earlier this week.

He said: "To be honest, I thought that Jack was great.

"He's come into a new group of lads, and he's only had one training session but I think he gives us pace that can stretch teams and give us something different going forward.

"As far as debuts go, aside from scoring a goal, it was top-drawer.

"The balance of the side is important. We're very good going forward on the right-hand side. If we can match that down the left-hand side, it'll make teams second-guess what we're trying to do. If we can implement that going forward, it'll put us in a good position."

Widnes will now prepare for a quick turnaround as Akrigg and Towey's side host AFC Liverpool in the Liverpool Senior Cup on Monday night.

Akrigg sees the competition as an opportunity to rotate his squad to give players the chance to get game time.

He said: "I think it gives us the opportunity to give lads minutes who haven't had much game time.

"The Liverpool Senior Cup is probably a chance for us to look at it and consider whether we can play lads here and there.

"I know a couple of their players but no matter who you play at this level, anyone can score goals if you give them the chance.

"It's important that we're fully focused from the get-go and hopefully we'll be talking about another win come Monday night."