Widnes manager Michael Ellison was delighted with his side after their 1-0 win over Prescot Cables.
George Hassall’s strike in stoppage time settled the derby clash to move the Whites to within three points of moving out of the bottom two.
The win made it two wins in two after beating playoff contenders Mossley on Saturday before inflicting misery of the Pesky Bulls.
“Delighted to get the three points, it was a massive win for us, really tough place to come,” Ellison said speaking to Off The Park.
“I thought it was a hard-earned derby between two decent sides but I thought we had the better of the chances, we defended really well, their danger with the front four, they’ve got two wide lads who are really good.
“But I thought we limited them, I don’t think Cam’s had a save to make – I think one in the first-half – and the chance that was put wide.
“Their ‘keepers had a couple to make and we’ve had the glorious chance with Will [Jones] and Connor [McCarthy] when he’s hit it over the bar and you think it’s not going to be our day again but a great ball from Millsy, Connor gets enough on it for the goalkeeper to make a save and George follows it in, I’m delighted. I thought we deserved it over the 90 minutes, I thought we edged the game.”
Cables were just days into the Steven Daley era after former manager Kevin Lynch resigned for personal reasons. They were looking to turn the page and start their new chapter on the front foot however it was a disjointed showing with their rivals enjoying the clearer opportunities.
But the lack of football being played was expected by the Widnes manager. He said: “It was always going to be scrappy, I think the conditions, the way they play, we knew they was going to put it on us they’re direct – they do it well – they pick up the second balls, one-on-one they’re really tricky but we dealt with them really, really well.
“The last three games we’ve played, I think Cam’s had one save to make and it was a penalty so we’re defending well as a team, I asked the lads to give us everything and the chance will come.
MATCH REPORT: Prescot Cables 0-1 Widnes: Vikings earn survival boost thanks to late Hassall winner
“We thought we missed it, it didn’t and with a little bit of luck, I think we edged it, we’re on a decent run but there’s still a long way to go.
“The amount of times where I’ve spoken to you where we’ve drew or lost games and we felt we should’ve won it, you always think it’ll even out or you’ll get the decisions,” he continued. “It’s a great win for us and hopefully, things will change.
“I said to lads before the game that they’re a vocal crowd, if you let them get any foothold in the game and you let them get their first contact on second-balls they get right behind them and it’d be a long night so we had to nullify that.
“The first 10-15 minutes we tried to play in their half and they are a good crowd, had a bit of banter with them behind the dugout, it’s a great atmosphere and it’s always great to get three points here, especially the way we got it.
“We’ve worked really hard since the Newcastle Town game, we changed things a little bit to go a bit defensive, we look solid. In transitions we’re not getting counter-attacked then we get the ball forward, when it sticks, we’ve runners off and look like we’ve got goals in us.
“A clean sheet, a million percent,” Ellison admitted, speaking about what pleased him most about their second successive win. “I said to the lads a couple of weeks ago, we don’t score enough goals – we know that – we create a lot of chances but we don’t score loads of goals to give our chance of winning any game, we’ve got to be in it first and foremost.
“The Newcastle Town game was the end of the line for me, it was unacceptable, we can’t give goals away like that, especially with the position we’re in.
“We’ve worked hard on things, the lads deserve all the credit, we can have a gameplan, what we want to do, how we want to set up, that’s easy anyone can do that but when you cross that white line, getting that right, putting it into practice is the hard bit, the lads deserve all the credit for that.”
