The game kicked off in near perfect conditions with the Avenue Street pitch in excellent condition despite the recent weather. A credit to grounds man Kay for all his hard work throughout the week. Widnes took first blood after some strong work across the park from both their forwards and backs, orchestrated well by their fly-half and inside centre. The pace of the game caught Bolton on the back foot and it was only a penalty offence that halted the away teams romp, which their 15 slotted coolly to give them a 0-3 lead after just 5 minutes.

This seemed to awaken Bolton, who on the back of two hard fought wins, have been looking for an all-round performance to get their campaign back up and running. The forwards led by Ash Cooper at blindside flanker were showing their opposite numbers what they were made of with a series of strong carries and intense rucking play. This brought the Cherry & White backline in to play who thrived all day off the front foot ball they were being provided with. This period of pressure was halted only due to an injury to a Widnes front row player who had to be removed from the field with their number 8 slotting in at loose head.

Bolton continued to dominate but managed to spill the ball just several metres from the Widnes try line. However the scrum is a potent weapon in the Bolton arsenal and with one front row already injured Bolton asserted their dominance and turned the ball back over. A penalty gave captain Cooper an opportunity for points which he turned down in favour of another scrum. The front row of Sam Hilton, Gareth Evans and Chris Mee did as asked by their captain and started the march towards the line, however Mills had different ideas from 10 and a wonderfully timed backs move saw left winger Jonny Stanfield go over in the right corner for the opening try, converted by Mark Doherty. 7-3.

Widnes appeared upset at the score and were soon to be more annoyed when almost immediately from the kick off Bolton surged forward through a Nick Sandbrook break and quick ball out wide to Rhys Pritchard saw him leaving the Widnes 14 & 15 clutching at thin air as he ghosted his way through for his 6th try of the season. Doherty was once again on target the the extras and the score stood at 14-3.

Frustration was beginning to show in the Widnes player, in particular their loosehead prop who must have misheard the instructions from the official at two consecutive scrums as ‘Crouch, Punch, Set’ meaning Chris Mee had to leave the field for treatment with Jon-Paul Hardman taking his place for 5 minutes. Unsurprisingly, this sent the Bolton crowd into uproar, but with the official missing the hit both times the game continued. A knock to Sandbrook brought youngster Louis Townsend on to the field for his debut performance, perhaps slightly earlier than anticipated, but an assured performance from another upcoming star of the club.

Knowing Bolton had the upper hand in the forwards, Widnes looked to their backs for some magic and the inside centre who was outstanding all day was causing Bolton a few problems and making ground on most occasions. A wayward kick from Mills down the middle of the field gave Widnes the chance to counter which they did with aplomb and a try was scored down the right hand side of the pitch. The conversion was missed leaving the score at 14-8.

Bolton continued to attack with gusto and their game plan seemed to be working well. Both forwards and backs continued to link well and eventually the home side found themselves within striking distance of the try line for the 3rd time. Pressure from the forwards inched them closer and 17 year old scrum half Jack Robinson sniped his way through a lack lustre guard defence to register his first 1st XV try. Doherty was off target with arguably his easiest kick so far. 19-8. Doherty had the chance to make up just a few minutes later though when he slotted a penalty with the final play of the first half taking the score to 22-8.

At half time Bolton knew they must not let up and that with the bonus point in sight must now look to turn the screw against their 4th place opposition, however Widnes are a team that can never be written off and they showed that almost immediately in the second half. Bolton didn’t help themselves with the number of errors that were creeping into what had been an excellent game.

For the opening 20 minutes of the second half Bolton allowed Widnes a foothold and eventually they made it pay with a darting run from their scrum half around the fringes of a ruck, that earned them 5 points with the kick missed. The score now stood at 22-13 and if Bolton continued to allow Widnes to dominate possession they were in danger of letting this game go.

A stern word under the posts from Cooper rejuvenated his side and they came out all guns blazing for the closing quarter of the game. They began to play with the style and confidence of the first 40 minutes and were putting Widnes under some serious pressure across the park. This pressure told once more when the Park hooker was sent to the bin for a stamp – one too many cheap shots from the visiting team.

Bolton couldn’t make the extra man count due to some impressive Widnes defence close to the line and soon the player had rejoined his team. However they were once again reduced to 14 when they were forced to remove another front row player due to injury forcing the game to uncontested scrums and causing Widnes to drop a player.

This time Bolton made the most of the advantage and continued to pepper the Widnes defensive line. A flowing backs move put Danny Joseph into space down the right wing, he made the most of the opportunity and gained 20 metres before being dragged down inside the Widnes 22. The forwards were now on hand being marshalled by the returning James Singleton – back following a lengthy injury lay off. Singleton had his troops charging into their opposition and inching closer to the line, when eventually Ash Cooper crashed over for the bonus point try to spark celebrations from the team and the supporters.

To add insult to injury, Bolton were given the opportunity of 3 more points with a penalty in front of the posts with the last play. In the same vein as the first half Doherty was on point with the kick and secured a memorable 32-13 victory over Widnes.

A great all round performance from a side that has struggled with injury and availability all season. This now puts Bolton in a strong position 11 points clear of the relegation zone with 8 fixtures remaining. They must look to put this winning form to good use when they visit Broughton Park on valentines day, a team going in to the game on the back of 6 straight defeats.