REPORT | Widnes 3-2 Pickering Town

Kingsley Williams scored twice but Widnes needed a stoppage time Jamie Rainford winner to see off bottom club Pickering Town on Saturday.

Williams netted a pair of stunning strikes either side of the break with Widnes seemingly on their way to a comfortable victory over the struggling Pikes.

But Pickering fought back with goals from substitutes Ryan Cooper and Nathan Perks levelling the scoreline with three minutes to go.

Widnes’ blushes were spared however when Rainford turned home from a Jack Banister cross to secure a second successive home league win and to deny Pickering a crucial point.

Defender Callum Humphries was recalled to the starting line-up amongst two enforced changes made by co-bosses Steve Akrigg and Kev Towey.

Humphries replaced the unavailable Alex McQuade while James Steele replaced joint player/manager Towey, who could miss the rest of the season with a broken foot.

The Whites started well and had a penalty shout turned down by referee Luke Lazenby. Ryan Jennings burst into the area and went down under the sliding challenge of Will Taylor as the Widnes man attempted to cut inside, but Lazenby wasn’t interested.

Jennings enjoyed a particularly busy first-half. He thread a clever reverse pass through to Banister who had a shot blocked by keeper Harrison Foulkes as the two Widnes wingers once again proved to be a handful for opposition defenders.

A chance went begging moments later as Rainford peeled away from his marker to latch on to an aerial Jennings through-ball, but Foulkes once again made a decent save.

Widnes keeper Cameron Terry was then called into action, producing a fine stop from a Jackson Jowett free-kick from 25 yards out.

The hosts looked the most likely side to break the deadlock and they notched themselves in front midway through the half.

A flowing passing move tallied 18 passes with Rainford eventually playing a neat one-two with Williams to race clear only to shoot straight at Foulkes.

But Williams reacted quickly to acrobatically hook the rebound into the roof the net with an impressive bicycle kick to net his first goal for the club.

Jennings then headed over from a Shaun Holden cross moments later as Widnes came close to a second despite never really exerting themselves in the opening 45 minutes.

Akrigg and Towey’s side suffered a blow on the stroke of half-time as Jay Roberts limped off with an ankle injury to be replaced by Danny Ventre who was forced into a makeshift role at right-back.

After a quiet start to the second half, Pickering enjoyed a decent spell with Humphries having to react quickly to make a crucial block to deny Elliot Holmes, while Terry saved well from Flynn McNaughton on the hour-mark.

The importance of surviving a Pikes flurry was underlined when Widnes doubled their advantage on the 63-minute mark.

Williams arguably outdid himself with a sensational second goal, thumping a volley into the top corner from the edge of the D with a sprawling Foulkes well-beaten.

Widnes could have increased their lead further when Banister struck over from a Jennings cutback when he really should have done better.

The visitors – rooted to the bottom of the division five points adrift of safety – never really looked like threatening a comeback until they pulled a goal back 13 minutes from time.

It was a goal that came in controversial circumstances. Pickering attacked from a drop ball after a stoppage in play due to a clash of heads and caught Widnes sleeping. Perks ran in behind to supply a cross from the byline that was nodded home at the back-post by Cooper.

Towey accused Pickering of gamesmanship after the game but admitted that he understood that “desperate times call for desperate measures.”

In truth, conceding and losing skipper Mike Burke to injury moments later unsettled Widnes. Academy youngster Matty Jefferson – making his senior debut – was forced into an unfamiliar role at right-back while seasoned pro Ventre dropped in at centre-half.

Perks then had the ball in the net only to be adjudged offside, but he made sure three minutes from time, seemingly rescuing a point for his side.

Iwan Heeley was afforded far too much time and space from right-back to float a deep cross in with Perks nipping in ahead of Jefferson to bundle a leveller over the line.

Widnes were in disbelief but as the cliché goes, a team is most vulnerable just after scoring.

James Murray worked a pass wide to Banister with Holden providing a dummy overlap to engineer space for a cross.

Banister’s cross admittedly wasn’t his best but a mis-timed clearance presented an opportunity to Rainford who reacted quickly to fire a snapshot beyond Foulkes to ultimately secure all three points.

Rainford’s goal was his seventh strike in seven games since returning to the club in January, and certainly his most important.