September 2, 2019

Trinity 16-24 Wigan

A brave and determined effort from Trinity was not enough to overcome Wigan Warriors at the Mobile Rocket Stadium on Sunday, as they fell just short, 16-24.

It was a excellent, gutsy performance from Trinity and full of desire, as Chris Green made his home debut in the red, white and blue, and Morgan Escare came face to face with the club who loaned him. 

Trinity matched the Warriors in both defence and attack, but it was a late try for Wigan that would seal the win for the visitors.

Wigan opened the scores after twenty minutes, as Trinity spilled the ball near the Warriors’ try-line. Liam Marshall was there to scoop it up and race away for the first touchdown of the match.

The Warriors then capitalised seven minutes later, when Trinity made another error on the first tackle of their set. This allowed Wigan to make good use of some gifted field possession, and they shifted to ball wide to Marshall, who crossed in the corner for his second try.

Trinity hit back however, and this would be through James Batchelor. A Jacob Miller grubber kick caused all sorts of problems for the Wigan defenders, but eventually found Batchelor who pounced on the ball to bring his side back into the game.

An incredible run from Kelepi Tanginoa sent the home fans into raptures, as he managed to offload to Morgan Escare. Escare would find the Trinity skipper Miller in support, who twisted and turned his way over the line.

Danny Brough then kicked the conversion on the hooter to make it 12-12 a piece heading into the break.

The game continued to be a closely-fought one in the second half, with both sides refusing to crack and buckle in defence.

It wasn’t until the 58th minute that Wigan would take the lead once more, with Liam Marshall claiming his hat-trick after taking a quick tap at the restart, and bursting through the Trinity defence. He sped away to score, despite Tyler Randell’s excellent effort to chase him down.

Ben Jones-Bishop gave Trinity hope when he pounced on a smart kick from Escare in the corner, but Danny Brough was unable to convert from the touchline, meaning Trinity trailed by two points with ten minutes to go.

After back to back penalties for the visitors, the pressure of Wigan’s attack mounted. Sam Powell then buried his way over the line from dummy half to secure the win for the Cherry and Whites, and consigned Trinity to a gutting defeat.

Although a tough one to take for Trinity, they can be proud of their attitude and efforts displayed, and will head over the Pennines to take on Warrington Wolves next Friday night – determined to cause an upset.

They will be aiming to bring back a crucial two points and mathematically secure their Super League status for 2020, and will also be hoping to see the travelling Trinity faithful in numbers to help them achieve the above.

Trinity: Escare, Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Tupou, Hampshire, Miller, Brough, England, Wood, Kopczak, Kirmond, Batchelor, Tanginoa. Subs: Randell, Annakin, Green, Tangata.

Tries: Batchelor (30), Miller (39), Jones-Bishop (69)

Brough (2/3)

Warriors: Hardaker, Marshall, Sarginson, Gildart, Burgess, Williams, Leuluai, Clubb, Powell, Partington, Isa, Farrell, Smithies. Subs: Greenwood, Navarrete, Byrne, French.

Tries: Marshall (20, 27, 58), Powell (80)

Goals: Hardaker (4/5)

Half-time – 12-12

Full-time – 16-24

Attendance: 5,805

Man of the match: Kelepi Tanginoa

Match report by Emma Holley