photo by Ian Lovell

Celtic Crusaders humiliated the Northern Rail Cup holders on Saturday evening after knocking them out of this year’s competition, winning by a mammoth 50 points to 18.

It was the second win for the Crusaders against last year's National League One runners up in the space of a month following their 16-14 victory in Widnes four weeks ago, and following that, everyone was predicting that this game was also going to be a close tight affair. However the experts and fans alike were in for a shock as the Crusaders ran riot.

The Welsh side are now just one game away from their first ever appearance in a major cup final. The draw for the semi-finals, that also includes Salford City Reds, Doncaster and (Batley Bulldogs or Oldham, note to editors, this match is being played today - Sunday - at 3pm so please delete as appropriate) will be made live on Boots N All on Sky Sports 2 on Wednesday at 6pm. The semi-final match will be played on the weekend of June 14/15.

The Crusaders are back in National League One action next Saturday when they face Batley Bulldogs at the Brewery Field in Bridgend (kick-off 5.30pm) in a game that can be seen live on S4C and they will be in a confident mood following this performance against one of the competition's favourites.

Widnes could have taken the lead on eight minutes but Gavin Dodd’s 40-metre penalty, given for a high tackle, was kicked wide.

Crusaders’ first real opportunity to score came on 14 minutes when Ian Webster’s grubber in front of the sticks, aimed for full-back Tony Duggan, was instead picked up by his opposite number Ian Hardman.

Paul Ballard also had the chance to run in a try on the right wing, but instead of sprinting straight for the line, where it looked like he had plenty of space, he chose to move inside and was stopped in his tracks.

Crusaders took the lead on 18 minutes when Duggan intercepted a pass and ran 50 metres, and from the next tackle Mark Dalle Cort forced his way over.

Ballard attempted to score a second straight from kick-off but was again prevented from crossing, this time by Shane Grady.

They extended their lead on 27 minutes when Aaron Summers ran through a gap in the Vikings defence and grounded. Damien Quinn kicked the extras to put the score on 10-0.

Widnes weren’t given time to breathe. After just two tackles following the kick-off, Quinn scored unchallenged underneath the sticks, converting his own try.

The home side had opportunities to extend their lead further before half-time. Chris Beasley was close, but held up over the line while Van Dijk’s kick aimed for Duggan was picked up by Richard Fletcher.

But Vikings struck back just before the interval when, following a scrum, Lee Paterson set up Scottish international Iain Morrison to go over. Dodd converted.

Crusaders restored the balance four minutes after the interval when Dalle Cort ran through for his second try with Lennon converting.

Dean Gaskill scored in the corner for Widnes seven minutes later with Dodd kicking the goal to put them back in the hunt.

Crusaders struck back on 56 minutes when Darren Mapp ran past the Vikings defence to ground while Van Dijk slipped the ball to Chris Beasley to score his first ever try for the club in the first set after kick-off to seal the Welsh side’s win. Quinn converted to put the score on 32-12.

Neale Wyatt set up Paul Ballard for an easy try in the corner on 67 minutes with Quinn converting once again but Widnes regained the ball straight from kick-off and scored through substitute Steven Roper with Dodd adding the extras.

But Crusaders weren’t finished yet rubbing salt into the poor Vikings’ wounds by scoring two more tries in the last ten minutes despite being down to 12 men after Tony Duggan was sinbinned for holding down in the tackle.

The determined Ballard made a welcome return to the side by scoring his second, running the length of the field, avoiding the challenge of Dodd to score under the sticks on 73 minutes with Quinn’s kick putting the score on 44-18.

And they brought up the 50-point mark in the final minute when Ian Webster set up Jace Van Dijk to score under the sticks. Quinn’s conversion was the final strike of the game as the final hooter blew.

Crusaders’ coach John Dixon was delighted at his team’s performance.

"We were pretty good today,” he said. “We played with some endeavour and flair and got some rewards for it so it was a good outing for us.

“We had 17 good players on the park today. Big games like this are won when your forwards do well and players like Gareth Dean and Jordan James did a great job today, Quinn and Van Dijk organised things well from half-back and players like Mark Dalle Cort were there to finish. We were really good throughout the park today and also maintained the intensity off the bench. I’m very pleased with the performance all round, we entertained the crowd and we hope to entertain them again next Saturday when we take on Batley here in Bridgend."

On the other end of the scale, Widnes coach Steve McCormack was naturally unhappy at the end of the game.

"This was a disappointing defeat for us," said Steve McCormack. "Fair play to Celtic, I thought they were very clinical. The stats in the first half set the tone when they had 23 sets to our 11. I'm very upset in the manner of our defeat and obviously disappointed to lose our grasp on the Northern Rail Cup.

"We were very poor today but take nothing away from John Dixon and his team, the way his team played was superb and they're starting to become a force at this level."

CELTIC CRUSADERS
1. Tony Duggan
2. Paul Ballard
3. Josh Hannay
4. Mark Dalle Cort
5. Anthony Blackwood
6. Damien Quinn
7. Jace Van Dijk
8. Jordan James
9. Ian Webster
10. Gareth Dean
11. Chris Beasley
12. Darren Mapp
13. Neale Wyatt
Subs:
14. Aaron Summers
15. Mark Lennon
16. Luke Dyer
17. David Tangata-Toa
Tries: Dalle Cort (18, 44), Summers (27), Quinn (30), Mapp (56), Beasley (59), Ballard (67, 73), Van Dijk (79)
Goals: Van Dijk 0/1, Quinn 6/7, Lennon 1/1

WIDNES VIKINGS
1. Ian Hardman
2. Dean Gaskill
3. Lee Paterson
4. Shane Grady
5. Gavin Dodd
6. Bob Beswick
7. John Duffy
8. Ben Kavanagh
9. Mark Smith
10. Jim Gannon
11. Danny Hill
12. Iain Morrison
13. Richard Fletcher
Subs:
14. Steven Roper
15. Sam Barlow
16. Dayne Donoghue
17. Rob Draper
Tries: Morrison (39), Gaskill (51), Roper (70)
Goals: Dodd 3/4

Referee: Dave Merrick (Castleford)
Men of the Match:
Crusaders – Neale Wyatt
Vikings – Ian Hardman
Penalties: 9-6
Scoring Sequence: 4-0, 10-0, 16-0, 16-6, 22-6, 22-12, 26-12, 32-12, 38-18, 44-18
Half-time: 16-6
Gamestar: Many Crusaders players had an excellent game but Neale Wyatt was superb whenever he got the ball making strong runs down the centre of the park.
Gamebreaker: Chris Beasley’s first try for the club on 59 minutes gave the Welsh side a 20-point gap.

article by Ian Golden
24 May 2008