JOEL Barber’s brilliant late try provided a fitting finale to an absorbing contest Northwich had to win twice.

Or at least it felt that way.

They appeared on course to a comfortable victory when they led 36-15 midway through the second period.

Then chaos broke out.

Robin Houghton, Richard Dale and Joe Maddocks were sent to the sin bin, and Warrington quickly racked up 21 unanswered points to draw level.

Northwich, not ran this close on home turf since the opening day of last season, were undeterred.

Sam Naylor gathered the ball before feeding it to Dale, and after it was recycled and then moved left Houghton’s clever interchange with Barber led to the latter touching down to secure victory.

His side hosts another with an unblemished record, Burnage, this Saturday.

They edged ahead in the first half after Warrington’s Danny Fleming had been sent to the sin bin, Matthew Poste inviting Barber to dot down from the resulting scrum.

Nick Baldwin added the extras.

Warrington responded when Tom Wood threw a long pass to Max Caldwell, and the full-back prompted Nathan Beesley to barge over.

Ben Hockenhull converted.

He followed with a successful penalty attempt, then Poste darted through a gap in the visitors’ defence to put Northwich back in front.

Baldwin’s boot was again reliable.

A nip-and-tuck half continued when Wood was first to a kick forward before scoring in the corner.

There was time for Naylor to provide Baldwin with a pass from which he notched a third Northwich try and, despite missing the conversion, he slotted a three-pointer before the break.

The hosts carried that momentum into the second period, adding to their advantage when Chris James sent Richard Dale racing to the line after Naylor’s initial break started the move.

Baldwin kicked the extras, then shortly after the restart Will Du Randt collected a loose ball at the breakdown before charging over.

Another conversion followed.

However Warrington made their numerical advantage count during the closing stages when tries from Josh Riley and Fleming – along with a penalty try – closed the gap.

Hockenhull’s three conversions tied the teams at 36-36.

Restored to a full complement, Northwich finished with a timely flourish provided by Barber’s second score.

Of their 24 successive wins in league matches since last October, this is a highlight.

Northwich | Thompson, James, Maddocks, Dudley, Heywood, Naylor, Chris Dale, English, Poste, Baldwin, Richard Dale, Reilly, Du Randt, Houghton, Barber Replacements Farley, Vaughan, Skinkis Tries Barber (2), Poste, Baldwin, Richard Dale, Du Randt Cons Baldwin (4) Pen Baldwin

Additional reporting by Steve Wood