Widnes 2-1 Daisy Hill

Debuting striker Tunde Owolabi marked his first Widnes appearance with a goal as Widnes FC picked up their first win in four games with a 2-1 win over Daisy Hill at the Select Security Stadium.

Owolabi opened the scoring with a powerful strike from 25 yards out before Tony Wynne’s fourth goal of the season seven minutes later gave Widnes a comfortable 2-goal cushion.

Curtis Cummins’ pulled a goal back for Daisy Hill five minutes from time to make the late stages interesting but Steve Hill’s side held on for only their fifth league win of the season.

Manager Hill made four changes to his side that lost 3-1 at Holker Old Boys last time out. Braian Strutz-Rivelli replaced the injured Corey Mason, whilst Daniel Wilson and Tony Wynne came in for George McGrogan and Daniel Burthem respectively. Striker Owolabi, recently signed from New Mills, came in for Tom Hackett.

After a quiet opening 10 minutes, Widnes came close to taking the lead. Luke Edwards, who adopted a more central role early, threaded a well-weighted through ball to Tony Wynne who was denied by Daisy keeper Christopher Taylor who was out quickly and got down well to make the save.

Less than two minutes later, the home side went in front. Paul Carney played a pass into the feet of Tunde Owolabi, who turned and advanced forward before firing a shot on goal that Taylor got his hands to but couldn’t keep out as the ball found its way into the bottom corner as the striker marked his debut with a well-taken goal.

It was nearly 2-0 minutes later. Edwards again brilliantly linked up with Wynne who was this time denied by a great challenge by Jake Foster who tackled the Widnes striker as he attempted to pull the trigger.

It was third time lucky for Wynne, as he finally got on the scoresheet on the 20-minute mark. He again linked up with Edwards, who dispatched the Widnes man with a through ball that allowed Wynne to evade the offside trap, before slotting his effort home to double Widnes’ lead.

Widnes were in complete control for large portions of the first half, as they routinely held Daisy Hill to long-range efforts through Alex McPolin and Reece Broadhurst who both forced comfortable saves out of Ben Morrow whilst the hosts’ central defensive partnership of skipper Tom Mitchell and Danny Wilson was reducing the effectiveness of McPolin and strike partner Curtis Cummins who punished Widnes in their 4-2 defeat in the reverse fixture in November.

Shortly before the interval, Widnes came close to a third. Danny Lomax picked out Edwards who brought the ball down before turning away from his man but could only fire wide.

Halftime: Widnes 2-0 Daisy Hill

The second half began with Widnes retaining their control over the proceedings as Jamil Campbell-Joseph spearheaded a counter-attack before delivering a teasing ball into the penalty area that was cleared well by Simon Farrell before Owolabi again came close as he cut inside from the left and fired a shot inches past the post.

Widnes continued to push for a third as the game approached the hour-mark. Campbell-Joseph’s cross deflected out to Lomax who saw his effort deflect over the crossbar for a corner that came to nothing.

Following the hour-mark, Widnes hit the bar. Edwards drilled a ball through to Lomax who rounded the keeper before picking out Ben Cartwright in the middle who was denied a sure-fire tap-in by Jordan Hussey, whose sensational challenge diverted Cartwright’s shot on to the bar, denying Cartwright his first Widnes goal by a matter of inches.

As the game began to approach its closing stages, Daisy Hill began to grow into the game as they searched for the game’s elusive third goal that would bring them back in contention for at least a point. Substitute Bruno Nunes curled an effort wide before Foster drilled a free-kick towards goal that was well-saved by Morrow.

The Daisies eventually did pull a goal back five minutes from time. Curtis Cummins cut inside from the right before forcing an excellent save out of Morrow before tucking away the rebound at the second attempt to give his side a lifeline.

However, despite their late offensive pressure, Daisy Hill couldn’t muster an equaliser as Widnes held on for all three points.

Fulltime: Widnes 2-1 Daisy Hill

Speaking after the game, Widnes manager Hill praised his side for their efforts but felt that they should have won the game by more.

He said: “It was a good performance but I felt that we should have won the game by more. We had good chances to kill the game off and I knew that as soon as they scored it would lead to a cavalry charge but we managed to hold on and I can only praise the lads for that. But, it should have been more comfortable than it was.

Hill also praised debutant Tunde Owolabi who marked his first appearance for the club with a goal.

He said: “Tunde was bright up front and he held the ball up well. He has good pace and that lead to him scoring a good goal. It looked like he’d been with the lads awhile as he linked up with the rest of the boys well.”

Widnes remain at home next time out as they host 7th placed Irlam, who have already beaten Widnes twice this season in league and cup action at Silver Street. Steve Nixon’s side look primed for a playoff and potentially promotion challenge as the season begins to approach its climax.

Widnes: Morrow, Strutz-Rivelli (Davidson 65), Carney, Wilson, Mitchell (C), Cartwright, Campbell-Joseph, Lomax, Wynne, Owolabi, Edwards.

Subs not used: Burthem, Wright.

Daisy Hill: Taylor, Hynes, Broadhurst, Parker, Farrell (Hussey 61), Foster, Davison, Farnworth (Nunes 61), McPolin, Cummins, Knowles (Higson-Morris 87).

Subs not used: Winstanley, Haynes.