Wardle and O’Neill on target as Wigan end Warrington’s unbeaten record

Wigan ended Warrington’s winning start in the Betfred Super League as they held on for a hard-fought 13-6 victory at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday.

First-half tries from Jake Wardle and Brad O’Neill proved crucial for the Warriors in a tense top-of-the table contest dominated by defence.

Matty Nicholson kept Warrington in the game by finishing off a quick counter-attack before the interval but the hosts were kept scoreless in the second half. A Harry Smith penalty and a late drop-goal were the only additions to scoreboard in the second 40 minutes.

Josh Drinkwater and Greg Minikin thought they had scored in the closing minutes for Warrington but both efforts were disallowed as Wigan held on for a statement win.

After last week’s derby defeat of champions St Helens, Matty Peet’s side have now won five in succession and their campaign is gathering momentum. For Warrington, after their first defeat in nine outings this term, there was just the consolation of knowing they retain a two-point lead at the top of the table.

Wigan started well and opened the scoring after five minutes as Smith and Bevan French combined to put Wardle through a gap for a simple finish. Smith’s conversion attempt hit the post and Wigan missed another chance to add to the score when Liam Marshall knocked on in sight of the line.

Warrington dug deep to repel more Wigan pressure but they cracked again in the 28th minute when French’s clever chip inside was claimed by O’Neill and the substitute slammed the ball down.

This time Smith was successful to give the Warriors a deserved 10-0 lead but the hosts responded with a blistering breakaway try. It came out of nowhere as George Williams broke up yet another Wigan attack before releasing Matty Ashton down the left.

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Wigan got back quickly and halted Matt Dufty after the ball was worked back inside but play was spread to the right and Nicholson found space to score. With Stefan Ratchford adding the extras the game was back in the balance at the break but, despite an increase in possession, Warrington struggled to break Wigan down.

Smith edged the visitors further ahead with a penalty and then added a one-pointer as time ran out. Drinkwater and Minikin went over in quick succession late on but the video referee denied them both.