Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:20 pm  

First half killed us. Penalty after penalty. I've never seen any team hold down like saints did but we got nothing. The fight, thought one at least should have gone from them, about 4 of their men ran in. Delighted with how we played its just so frustrating we didn't get anything from the ref to give us a chance. 4-4 with 20 to go.

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:33 pm  

Yeah gutted too. We really gave them a game until the turning point of the sending off and sin binning. A good performance from the lads and they should take comfort from the fact that they competed really well against one of the best / most fancied teams this year. Hopefully our steady progress will continue and we'll be able to shock a few teams...And there's always chance for revenge at Langtree Park 3rd May!

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:41 pm  

Our defence has improved a lot and if was not for Child's, we would have beat them.Cross was silly what he did and deserved a sending off but to sin bin Clarke too was a joke.All saints players piled in and no sin bins for them.Linesmen missed or ignored high shots,a.d Meli last touch into touch.Looking good for the season.

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:49 pm  

OFFTHECUFF wrote:

Our defence has improved a lot and if was not for Child's, we would have beat them.Cross was silly what he did and deserved a sending off but to sin bin Clarke too was a joke.All saints players piled in and no sin bins for them.Linesmen missed or ignored high shots,a.d Meli last touch into touch.Looking good for the season.

Agree Cross was silly and it was probably worth a yellow but never a red, St's over reacted and caused the brawl but obviously only Clarke was involved in that, if only what you've stated was all Childs got wrong but it's far from it that has to be the worst refereeing performance ive seen in over 35 yrs of watching the game. He spoiled what was a close keenly contested game and turned it into a farce

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:53 pm  

I've often stuck up for referees on here but I can only guess James Child wanted Saints to win today such was the bias on show.

They were allowed to hold down every single tackle without punishment and we were pulled up for the smallest thing. They knock on and kick the ball out and it's missed.

Yet we were still in the game against all odds, so what does he do? Sends two off. One probably justified, one, a brawl that only one team is punished in? Unprecedented. And only then do they break us, one after a loving knock on.

I'm livid, and I honestly, seriously, think we should lodge an official complaint.

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 7:05 pm  

Childs is a born prick. He put us on a team warning and then did love all when we transgressed a minute later. Can't really complain about the sending off but he wouldn't have walked of Saints hadn't all run in and for him not to punish anybody from Saints for turning the incident into a brawl was shocking. Saints holding down unpunished and knock ons not given were an absolute joke.disappointed but not disheartened.

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:37 pm  

OFFTHECUFF wrote:

Cross was silly what he did and deserved a sending off but to sin bin Clarke too was a joke

You were on a team warning by then weren't you? That's possibly why Clarke was binned and nobody from Saints was.

I am not sure we would have won the match had you kept 13 on the field although we might have. We did finally start to play with some kind of cohesion in the last 15 minutes so maybe we have found our mojo at last. But I'm afraid Cross did deserve the red and not a yellow. He was straight around Wello's throat. Wello doesn't go down for show. He may flap his arms around a lot and moan at the ref, but he has never been a player to play injured. He was down because he couldn't get up. And it looked really bad from the East Stand.

Incidentally, you look a better team this season even though it is only very early. I think you will win quite a few more than you did last year. I hope Phelps isn't too badly injured. We lost Perry and Hohaia to injury during the match.

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:41 pm  

Child's has had a few good games but more often than not its a guaranteed shocker! We had Hicks last week and he spoilt the second half making it stop start and penalising one thing but then not another time. It's time to face reality that they are not up to it.

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:39 pm  

Widnes fans and moaning simply goes hand in hand.

If it isn't the RL hierarchy, it's their coach, sometimes referees or whoever else they put foward as a conveinient scapegoat for the shortcomings of their very average club.

Re: Gutted but a good performance : Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:51 pm  

Ben Cross lost you that game today, not Childs, and it was a red card...Yea he was crap, but for both teams. You were the best team today and if you would have kept all 13 on i think you would have won. The punch up seemed to wake us up and spark us into life. Think you'll finish top 8, maybe top 6 this year if you carry on playing like that. Good Luck.