Barrow Raiders head coach Paul Crarey has praised his players for their attitude and commitment that brought a 26-18 home win over Widnes Vikings.
They had to show their defensive capabilities in the second half after the Vikings mounted a fightback from an earlier 18-0 deficit.
Heading into the final quarter the Raiders held only a slender 20-18 lead before clinching the points with a late Sane Toal try converted by Ryan Shaw.
Crarey said: “We put in a really positive performance in that first half to go 18-0 ahead. We dropped two sets out of 20 and played some really good stuff.
“We played through the middle, like we said we would, and scored some really nice tries.
“In the second half, they had a fluky try where it bobbled and their player caught it in open space, then they broke us on a shift play and it was all hands to the pump from that point.
“We just had to grind that win and take control of the game, and we did that.
“I thought that in the last 10 minutes, we were tenacious. We battled for everything, kicked the ball and chased well. Our middles were outstanding.
“I’m very proud of the performance. They wanted a reaction from the Whitehaven game and John Kear, the Widnes head coach got one, but we just had enough to hold out for that win against a very high-quality team.”
Barrow face a tough test in their follow-up Championship game at Halifax on Sunday.
