Wigan 27 Saints 18

SPIRITED Saints bounced back from an early 18-point deficit but their comeback was not good enough to prevent them slumping to their fifth loss in six games.

After only 25 minutes the travelling fans in the North Stand were covering their eyes in anticipation of another miserable defeat on the scale of those at Hull and Leeds.

But spurred on by Super League's youngest-ever player, 16-year-old debutant Scott Moore, and fellow teenager James Roby, Saints showed their resilience in the second half.

After pegging it back to 21-18 with two smartly-taken tries by Roby - the second of which took great strength and a telescopic arm - Saints had real belief that they could beat their rivals at the JJB for the first time in nine outings.

But it was not to be. The visitors bombed a golden chance on the right flank when Ade Gardner just couldn't control an indifferent final pass. And they were still cursing their luck when home skipper Andy Farrell tore through the heart of their midfield to send Kris Radlinski over for what turned out to the match-winner.

The second half, however, was marred by a shocking high tackle by Terry Newton on young Saints' forward Jon Wilkin as he released the ball.

When the 69th-minute incident was repeated on the big screen, justifiable howls of outrage rose from the bank of Saints support. The incident was placed on report and observers will be looking for consistency, given the four-match ban handed to first-time offender Wilkin for a high tackle at Easter.

After a lengthy delay while the back-rower was stretchered off, the game never really regained its tempo.

Afterwards, Saints' coach Ian Millward paid tribute to his teenage half-backs.

He said: "The kids were absolutely outstanding, I'm really proud of them. It was a very brave performance.

"We gave away a lot of penalties in the first half and our completion rate was poor, which has been a problem for the last six games.

"After half-time, we really lifted and at 21-18 we should have scored in the right-hand corner. I'm really proud of the way we got back in the game.

"There were a lot of positives out of it. The big thing for me is the improvement in our last two games. I would still like to finish in third place - that is still our aim. I am not happy with fifth spot".

Saints tackled well enough early on even withstanding a couple of repeat sets on their own line but when Newton intercepted Paul Sculthorpe's pass to send speedster Brett Dallas romping over, you could tell it was going to be one of those nights.

Hammered 9-3 in the first-half penalty count and making daft handling errors early on in the set, Saints' defence had to be on its mettle to keep Wigan at bay.

Frustratingly, after tackling so well, Saints fell down with some one-on-one misses, sloppy handling and a bit of bad luck.

Wigan's second try by Adrian Lam underlined that. Although Lam showed great skill and pace to leave Ricky Bibey clutching at thin air to take him through the initial gap, before spreading the ball left, the Warriors virtually fumbled their way over after Saints just couldn't intercept cleanly to allow Lam to pounce on the stray ball.

And to further undermine Saints' efforts to claw their way back, during one vital spell of pressure prop Nick Fozzard knocked on in the Wigan 20-metre zone.

A penalty followed on almost immediately and with Saints' heads down, Wigan took full advantage when Lam and Radlinski combined to send Sean O'Loughlin storming over.

But with Wilkin in the sin-bin for interference in the tackle, 12-man Saints came to life when Lee Gilmour broke through to send Darren Albert flying down field, before dropping a pass off to the supporting Jason Hooper. The Aussie just had enough speed and strength to reach over despite the covering tackle.

Farrell had the last word of the first half though, converting a penalty and firing over a 40-metre drop goal in the last second. These were to prove vital points after Saints' Roby-inspired rally.

So a more spirited display by Saints, after the shocking performances of recent weeks, but coach Millward will have to do something to get his front-row firing on all cylinders if they are to have a decent tilt at the play-offs. And he may also want to invest in some Bostik for some of his repeat ball-dropping offenders.