The Wigan half-back Matty Smith will swing his right foot many more times this season, but it’s highly doubtful there will be a more important moment than for the penalty he kicked to seal victory against title rivals Leeds.
The England international has been below his best this year in a largely inconsistent season for Wigan, but two try assists and a perfect record from the kicking tee – including that dramatic late penalty with just 45 seconds remaining – underlined his importance to the club on a night where they needed just about everything they had to put Leeds to bed and move within two points of the league leaders.
The fact that all three outcomes were still possible with less than a minute left emphasised what a superb advert for Super League this was; the destination of the two points ebbed and flowed throughout the 80 minutes, but ultimately it was Smith that secured what was a deserved win for Wigan, who remain unbeaten at home in the league this season.
The Wigan coach Shaun Wane said: “I thought we deserved to win – the best team won. Credit to Leeds; they’re a fantastic team and they’re quite rightly sitting at the top of Super League. But I genuinely thought the better team won – we bombed some chances but I’m very happy to get the win.”
As for Leeds, they will sit back and reflect on this defeat and wonder what might have been. That late penalty and a controversial disallowed try in the first half proved the difference on a night where they just weren’t quite at their best. The Leeds coach Brian McDermott said: “I’ve no complaints with the loss. We were flat in the first half; there were some tremendous periods but defensively we didn’t have enough bite about us – that’s where the game was won and lost really.”
The hooker Paul Aiton put Leeds into an early lead after 10 minutes when he dived over from dummy-half courtesy of some uncharacteristically slack Wigan defending, but two tries in three minutes from Liam Farrell and the captain Sean O’Loughlin turned the game.
Yet the impressive Adam Cuthbertson then fired a superb pass for prop Brad Singleton to barge over for Leeds, with Kevin Sinfield’s second conversion levelling it up at 12-12. Leeds then felt they should have gone back in front when Danny McGuire crossed after more sensational play from Cuthbertson, only for the video referee to chalk the try off due to obstruction. Wigan took advantage, and subsequently the half-time lead courtesy of a try from Matty Bowen.
A pinpoint kick from Smith 10 minutes after the restart allowed Josh Charnley to touch down and extend Wigan’s lead, but Leeds showed spirit and guile to fight their way back into the contest. However, they could only produce a solitary try from Ash Handley in a dominant 20-minute spell.
They kept pressing late on, and after plenty of pressure on the Wigan line, it finally told when Rob Burrow exploited some tired defending. Sinfield’s conversion then made it 24-24 with just three minutes left.
Leeds looked the more likely to claim the win, but when Aiton was adjudged to have obstructed a Wigan defender to enable Carl Ablett to break, the referee Richard Silverwood pulled the play back and gave Smith the simplest of opportunities to win it for Wigan. He did not miss, and there was barely enough time for Leeds to kick off before the hooter sounded to hand Wigan a potentially huge victory come the season’s end.
Wigan Bowen; Charnley, Bateman, Sarginson, Burgess; Williams, Smith; Flower, McIlorum, Crosby, Tomkins, Farrell, O’Loughlin. Interchange: Clubb, Mossop, Patrick, Tautai. Tries: Farrell, O’Loughlin, Bowen, Charnley. Goals: Smith 5.
Leeds Watkins; Handley, Keinhorst, Moon, Hall; McGuire, Sinfield; Leuluai, Aiton, Peacock, Delaney, Ablett, Cuthbertson. Interchange: Burrow, Singleton, Walters, Yates. Tries: Aiton, Singleton, Handley, Burrow. Goals: Sinfield 4.
Referee R Silverwood (Mirfield) Attendance 15,009
