Widnes 5-2 Bacup Borough

Widnes FC kicked off 2016 on a high as they ended a 10-game winless run stretching back to early October with a resounding and well deserved 5-2 victory over Bacup Borough at the Select Security Stadium.

Tom Hackett netted either side of the halftime break to put Widnes 2-0 up before they were pegged back when Bacup substitute Jamie Higgins found the net. However, Widnes restored their 2-goal lead five minutes later when Ronnie McCarthy marked his 50th game for the club with a strike from outside the area.

Borough would not go away however and made things interesting when Kelvin Trippier, brother of Tottenham Hotspur’s Kieran, headed home 10 minutes from time. Nevertheless, Widnes wrapped up all three points as Luke Edwards and Tony Wynne scored injury time goals to secure the 5-2 win.

Widnes manager Steve Hill made three changes to the side that were beaten 3-1 by Barnton in their final game of 2015. Jamie Casson came in for the unavailable Paul Carney at left-back whilst Steven Clarke was handed a start as he replaced suspended skipper Tom Mitchell. Tony Wynne also returned to the starting lineup, replacing Jamil Campbell-Joseph who dropped to the bench.

The game started slowly as both sides were content in battling for possession in midfield. Luke Edwards headed a Tom Hackett cross wide in the only chance of the early exchanges.

Widnes came close to taking the lead 15 minutes into proceedings as Tony Wynne opportunistically robbed Bacup defender LaQuan Esdaille of possession just outside the penalty area before firing his shot past the post under pressure from Borough skipper Birtles.

Midway through the half, Widnes began to establish their dominance as the visitors were regularly camped in their own half as the Whites quickly and fluidly moved the ball around. Alex Davies and Luke Edwards linked up on two separate occasions in quick succession as the latter first forced a save out of Borough keeper Peter Monteith before guiding a Davies cross wide on the half-volley a minute later.

Widnes continued to search for an opener as the half drew to a close. An intricate passing move from Hill’s side saw Steven Clarke and Hackett combine to tee up Danny Lomax who curled an effort over the bar from distance.

After prolonged persistence, Widnes took the lead inside first half stoppage time. Edwards and Davies again linked up as the latter delivered a cross into the middle that was flicked on by defender Danny Wilson to Tom Hackett, who controlled the ball before volleying home on the spin to net for the third time this season.

Halftime: Widnes 1-0 Bacup Borough

Borough started the half with renewed energy and purpose, perhaps indicating that their halftime team talk wasn’t a pleasant one. They launched an early counter-attack as Matthew Bryan went on a powering run before steering the ball into the path of Michael Gervin, who couldn’t get a shot away and eventually lost the ball as the attack broke down.

Bacup came close to equalising shortly thereafter. Widnes defender Ben Cartwright cheaply lost possession of the ball on the edge of the centre-circle which allowed Borough’s Kelvin Trippier to advance forward and beat Ben Morrow with a lob that fortunately for Widnes, crept past the post and wide.

Widnes punished Bacup for their lack of killer instinct as Hill’s team doubled their lead shortly before the hour-mark. Steven Clarke released earlier goalscorer Tom Hackett, who engineered space for a shot magnificently before drilling an effort beyond the outstretched Monteith to double his side’s lead, netting his second goal of the afternoon in the process.

Borough came close to halving Widnes’ lead minutes later. Substitute Anthony Hall, who impressed off the bench for the visitors, was presented with a glorious opportunity inside the area before couldn’t get his shot away before Danny Wilson made an excellent intervention to avert any danger.

Bacup eventually did pull a goal back with 66 minutes on the clock. Marlon Barlow delivered a ball into towards the back post that was met by Jamie Higgins, who made a tremendous run to get on the end of a sensational delivery, getting Bacup back into the game with more than enough time remaining to get something out of the game.

Widnes restored their two-goal lead less than five minutes later. Luke Edwards drilled a corner into the path of Ronnie McCarthy who was lurking outside the area before promptly firing a shot through the crowd of players in the area and into the bottom corner as stand-in skipper McCarthy marked his 50th appearance for Widnes with a goal that his terrific performance warranted.

McCarthy almost found the net for a second time less than two minutes later. He again linked up with the lively Edwards before sending a thunderous shot towards goal that stung the gloves of Monteith as the Bacup goalkeeper made the save.

Despite the two-goal deficit, Bacup continued to fight and press forward offensively. They rattled the woodwork 10 minutes from time as Marlon Barlow’s curling effort struck the foot of the post before Jamie Higgins’ follow-up was brilliantly denied by the feet of Widnes shot-stopper Morrow.

Borough then made things interesting a minute later as they pulled a goal back yet again. A cross from the right was headed towards goal by Kelvin Trippier, which seemed to wrong foot Morrow before finding its way into the bottom corner.

Brent Peters’ side then pushed forward in search of an equaliser. Keeper Monteith launched a long ball forward that released substitute Hall who forced yet another good save out of Morrow before the unmarked Matthew Barlow headed the resulting corner wide in what proved to be a let-off for Widnes.

As the game entered stoppage time, Widnes tried to run time off the clock by holding the ball deep in Bacup territory. They all-but secured the three points two minutes into added time as McCarthy played a free-kick short to Luke Edwards, who cut inside from the right before finding the bottom corner with a 25-yard strike as Edwards continued his impressive debut season with the club as netted his 11th goal of the season.

Two minutes later, with only seconds remaining, Widnes scored again. A Bacup corner quickly turned into a Widnes counter-attack as Tony Wynne picked up the ball from just outside his own penalty area before unleashing a lung-busting run forward, going past two Borough defenders in the process before calmly slotting the ball home in composed fashion to complete the well deserved victory for Widnes.

Fulltime: Widnes 5-2 Bacup Borough

Speaking after the game, Widnes manager Steve Hill was pleased with his side’s performance but continued to state the importance of his side eradicating their defensive woes.

He said: “It’s our first win since early October so I’m delighted with that and it’s a relief to finally come away from a game with all three points.

“We’re a funny side because at times I think we play some good stuff but we don’t come away with a result that the performance warranted.

“We just need to stop giving silly goals away but today I thought we were well worthy of our win.”

With this win, Widnes climb to 13th in the increasingly tight North West Counties First Division, although they have played a number of games more than the teams around them. Next week, they’ll look to carry their momentum into their home game against third-placed Hanley Town.

Widnes: Morrow, Davies, Casson, Wilson, Cartwright, Lomax, Clarke (Burthem 73), McCarthy (C), Wynne, Hackett (Campbell-Joseph 73), Edwards.

Subs not used: Wright

Bacup Borough: Monteith, Bellamy, Birtles (C), Marlon Barlow, Esdaille, Trippier, Dell (Higgins 57), Gervin (Hall 50), Matthew Barlow, Bryan, Banda (Burke 71).

Subs not used: Ashfaq, Herrington.