NORTHWICH edged closer to safety when they overcame Widnes 21-17 in an entertaining if not pretty contest at Moss Farm on Saturday.
The late withdrawal of Oscar Malik and the even later withdrawal - injured in the warmup - of Harry Naylor scuppered plans to run with the side as the previous week.
Up stepped man-of-the-match Zac Richardson, showing his versatility in being able to play in almost any position with equal ability.
Juan Smit looked like he had scored the first try only for the referee to call it a double movement in the Regional 2 North West clash.
By the 20-minute mark the visitors had crossed twice to take a 12-0 lead.
Northwich were guilty of too many errors with passes going astray as they battled to respond.
Nevertheless, on the 35th minute an attacking lineout gave Blacks the opportunity to attack.
With the ball secured Northwich drove towards the Widnes line and Tom White showed his strength to score a try which Tom Husbands converted.
The first 20 minutes of the second half were a bit of a stalemate.
Then from an attacking Blacks lineout Rory Leijdekkers peeled away and scored a well-deserved try which Husbands converted.
The visitors suffered from a series of yellow cards which provided Northwich an extra man advantage throughout the half.
On the 65th minute Blacks delivered the hammer blow.
As they attacked the Widnes line a deliberate knock-on prevented a try-scoring pass and a penalty try was subsequently awarded.
This only served to galvanize Widnes and they laid siege on the Northwich line.
With 10 minutes remaining a tapped penalty produced an unconverted try for the visitors setting up a nail-biting finale.
The Northwich defence stepped up to see the game out.
Blacks’ coaching team have two weeks to prepare the side for the crucial visit to bottom team Eccles on March 22.
This break will allow time for injured players to recover.
