Castleford Tigers claimed a dramatic 14-12 win against Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones Stadium to advance to the next round of the Super League play-offs. Here’s how the action unfolded.
MATCH DETAILS
Castleford kept their hopes of reaching the Grand Final alive with a two-point win against Warrington which in-turn eliminated the Wolves from the competition.
Warrington spurned the first opening of the match when Stefan Ratchford missed an early penalty attempt from around 15-metres out.
A series of handling errors from both sides made for a scoreless opening 20 minutes with both teams struggling to carve out an opening.
Castleford scored the only try of the first half when Paul McShane’s clever grubber kick out of dummy-half was touched down by Adam Milner.
However, the Wolves responded in the opening minutes of the second half when Jake Mamo powered his way over the line despite the presence of two Castleford defenders.
The Tigers restored their six-point advantage when Jordan Rankin went over close to the right touchline after a well-worked move caught out the Warrington defence.
The visitors extended their lead when Peter Mata’utia kicked a penalty from 30-metres out after Mike Cooper was penalised for a strip.
Moments later, Chris Hill touched down Daryl Clark’s deft grubber kick through to keep Warrington in the contest with 10 minutes left to play.
Warrington missed the chance to draw themselves level with six minutes remaining when Ratchford’s penalty attempt from inside his own half fell short of the posts.
Despite a frantic finish, Castleford held on to claim their first away play-off victory since 1999 and will now play the loser of Wigan Warriors against Salford Red Devils in the next round, with that game taking place next week.
Defeat for Warrington means their season is over in the first round of play-off matches, with their campaign tailing off following their surprise Challenge Cup success in late August.
The Wolves should have broken the deadlock on six minutes when Castleford were penalised for holding on, only for Ratchford to be wayward with his penalty attempt.
The home side were punished for that missed opportunity on 28 minutes when an excellent short grubber kick from McShane dribbled through for Milner to touch down despite pressure from Ben Currie with Peter Mata’utia converting.
Former Castleford man Daryl Clark came close to scoring his side’s first try just before half time only to be held up over the line after some outstanding Tigers defence.
Blake Austin was forced off at half time with a suspected knee ligament injury with the Australian replaced by Jake Mamo at the break.
Mamo made an immediate impact, crossing for Warrington’s first try of the night on 42 minutes, after shrugging off the attention of two would-be defenders to score in the corner, with Ratchford kicking an excellent conversion from the touchline.
The Tigers responded just six minutes later when Rankin caught Warrington’s left-side napping after some fine work from Mata’utia who added the extras with a fantastic touchline conversion.
A Mata’utia penalty extended Castleford’s lead to eight points only for Hill to score Wire’s second try of the night moments later, before Ratchford’s rapid conversion closed the gap to two points, to set up a barnstorming final 10 minutes.
Ratchford then went for an ambitious penalty attempt from inside his own half with six minutes left to play, with his effort falling short of the posts.
Bryson Goodwin was sent to the sin-bin in the dying seconds as Castleford held on to book their place in the next round of the play-offs.
FOUR POINTERS
Warrington’s season over
Having won just one of their last eight Super League matches, Warrington have endured a dismal end to their season in 2019. After their unlikely Challenge Cup triumph against St Helens in late August, the Wolves season tailed off, culminating in tonight’s home defeat to the Tigers.
Austin Powerless
After starring for the Wolves throughout the 2019 Super League season, Blake Austin was powerless to prevent Warrington’s season ending earlier than he would of liked. His injury in early August sparked a downturn in the club’s form and Wire lacked creativity after he departed the field injured at half time.
Castleford back on track
After limping into the play-offs off the back of a defeat to Wigan Warriors last time out, the Tigers season is now back on track. Having come up short two seasons ago against the Leeds Rhinos, can Cas go one step further in 2019 despite a plethora of injuries that has plagued their season?
Superb Cas Defence
Whilst they didn’t create too many scoring chances, the Tigers looked solid in defence and showed massive heart to see off the Wolves. Dream team prop and Steve Prescott Man of Steel contender Liam Watts was phenomenal for Castleford once again and set the tone for a magnificent team performance.
THE RESULT
Warrington Wolves 12
Tries: Mamo, Hill
Goals: Ratchford 2
Drop Goals: n/a
Castleford Tigers 14
Tries: Milner, Rankin
Goals: Mata’utia 3
Drop Goals: n/a
SQUADS
Warrington Wolves: Ratchford, Lineham, Goodwin, King, Charnley, Austin, Patton, Hill, D. Clark, Cooper, Currie, Hughes, J. Clark
Interchanges:ย Murdoch-Masila, Philbin, Mamo, Westwood
Castleford Tigers: Turner, Clare, Mata’utia, Blair, Minikin, Trueman, Rankin, Watts, McShane, Millington, Holmes, Clarkson, Smith
Interchanges:ย Milner, Cook, Ellis, O’Neill
