NORTHWICH were beaten by a late Widnes penalty on Saturday.
With a one-point lead and the Regional 2 North West match entering added time, a fly-hack from Northwich provided Widnes with a chance to attack.
Although the Blacks’ scrambling defence halted the attack, a penalty was conceded.
The Widnes fly-half stepped up and struck a penalty kick which brought the curtain down on an enthralling contest 23-21 in the home side’s favour.
Nobody wants a backlog of fixtures to contend with, so Northwich were pleased that the Widnes pitch held up to be able to get the match underway.
Blacks welcomed back Hurjo Besuidenhout, Alex Speakman and Jonathan Knipe and having had two inauspicious matches they were under no illusion how tough this encounter would be.
The rain was intermittent and at the start both sides found handling the ball challenging.
Too many errors led to the first 25 minutes being a stalemate.
That was until Northwich were caught offside and the resultant quick tap produced an unconverted try for the hosts.
Five minutes later Widnes extended their lead with a penalty when Northwich were deemed to have collapsed a maul.
On the 35th minute the visitors went further behind when, following a lineout, Widnes went on the attack and after a series of pick and drives, they scored a converted try.
The response from Northwich was positive and a great pass released Jonathan Knipe, who in turn fed Tshipane Mthembu to score a try which was converted by man-of-the-match Alex Speakman, sending Northwich into the break 15-7 behind.
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As soon as the second half resumed Blacks were dealt a major blow.
From a lineout the home side went on the attack and following several line-breaks they scored an unconverted try to further extend their lead.
Twenty minutes later after a good build-up a delayed pass put Rory Leijdekkers into a gap from which he scored. Speakman added the extras, and the tide appeared to turn.
With 10 minutes remaining Blacks won the ball deep in opposition territory and Speakman placed a cross-field kick directly into the hands of Toby Moss whose inside pass to Knipe provided him with a try. Speakman was again on target to add the extras but the one-point advantage proved not to be enough.
The outcome was disappointing for Northwich, with only a losing bonus point to show for all their efforts.
Nevertheless, Blacks will take great heart from an overall performance in which the whole team committed to the cause.
The match brought the curtain down on the first half of the season and provided a clear picture of what is to come in the second round.
Table toppers North Ribblesdale visit Moss Farm on Saturday, kick-off 2.15pm, for the final match of the year.
