Wizards' richly deserved victory

Warrington Wizards 38 Kippax Knights 16

WARRINGTON Wizards produced an excellent performance to gain a richly deserved victory against Kippax Knights in a high quality Conference Three encounter at Wilderspool Stadium.
The Wizards extra all-round composure and discipline at vital times proved crucial as they made Kippax pay for their indiscretions with a polished display that keeps them riding high near the top of the league table.
The home side opened the scoring in the fifth minute when pressure in the Knights’ 20 metre area was rewarded as second row Paul Alcock passed out to winger Christian Taylor who went over in the left corner.
Kippax responded almost immediately as they managed to keep the ball alive well close to the Wizards line and winger Nathan Waters went over in the right corner. Scrum half Gavin Adkin landed a fine touchline conversion to give his side the lead for the first and only time.
A period of play then ensued where both teams’ strong defensive efforts were cancelling each other out but on 25 minutes the Wizards managed to get themselves back in front when a brilliant bullet pass from stand off Alan Reddecliff cut out two defenders and found centre Mike Stout who went over on the left.
Ten minutes later both sides were temporarily reduced to 12 men when Alcock and Waters were sin binned following a flair up.
Three minutes before the break the Wizards stretched their advantage when the impressive Reddecliff caught the Kippax defence napping with some quick thinking to go through a gap and score. Scrum half Graham Healey converted to make the half time score 14-6 to the Wizards.
Twelve minutes into the second half the Knights got themselves back to within touching distance when a break by Waters split the Wizards defence and he sent stand off Chris Redfearn on a 40 metre run to score an unconverted try to the left of the posts.
Three minutes later the Wizards pulled away again when a break by Alcock was carried on by substitute Danny Gregory and a quick play the ball saw winger James Rosson collect and step back inside to score a fine try. Healey tagged on the goal points.
The visitors had second row Alex Daniels dismissed for a head butt in the 67th minute and two minutes later the Wizards made the game safe when Gregory cleverly chipped over the Kippax defence on the last tackle and re-gathered to score under the posts. Healey converted and a minute later a superb 40 metre break by prop forward Dan Crampton was carried on by Reddecliff and he found Alcock who went over wide on the left. Healey landed the difficult conversion.
The Knights gained a consolation try five minutes from time when Redfearn pounced on a Wizards handling error in their own 20 metre area to score under the posts. Substitute Andy Walker converted but it was the Wizards who were to have the final say when centre Sean Conway scored in the right corner following a lovely break by loose forward Paul Reynolds. Healey goaled from the touchline to complete a very good 38-16 win.
Man of the Match was awarded to Wizards’ stand off Alan Reddecliff. He was ably assisted by half back partner Graham Healey who combined well with his captain to keep Kippax on the back foot for long periods. Paul Alcock, Dan Crampton and Paul Reynolds also put in fine performances.
Afterwards, Wizards’ assistant coach Mike Grady said: “We encountered a tough and physical game which is what we expected and we stood up to the test well and deservedly came out on top.
“There are obviously still areas in our game that we need to work on and we will be doing that this week in training to make sure we are ready for the game against St. Albans Centurions on Saturday. We have bounced back really well from the setback against Hemel a couple of weeks ago and the challenge now is to keep this run going.”
Wizards: Craig Middlemore, James Rosson, Mike Stout, Sean Conway, Christian Taylor, Alan Reddecliff, Graham Healey, Dan Crampton, Hayden James, Christian Froggatt, Paul Alcock, Craig Woolvine, Paul Reynolds. Subs: Warren Ayres, Danny Gregory, Dan Stubbs, John Brotherton.