McDermott: Widnes were worthy winners

Leeds’ boss Brian McDermott paid tribute to Widnes after his team were beaten 28-20 by the Vikings on Bank Holiday Monday.

Corey Thompson (2) and Ryan Ince (2) topped the scoring for Widnes and condemn Leeds to their sixth defeat of the season.

McDermott said “Widnes are fighting for their lives and that performance they put in is a reflection of that. I have to give Widnes massive credit. Denis (Betts) has asked for a reaction from his players and he got one.

“We tried hard to break Widnes down and it was a case of six out of 10 on too many occasions. It was hard to build momentum in the game.

“I didn’t think energy was the issue out there. I thought we looked fit, we didn’t have any fitness worries with the players that were out there. We didn’t lack energy – it was a case of the dynamics of the game that let us down.

“There were some soft tries in there. Our last tackle plays were very poor and we gifted Widnes with a hell of a lot of possession in good areas, and they made the most of it.

“The only positive is that we didn’t pick any injuries up.”