Haven ace with score to settle

By Martin Morgan

Last updated 09:54, Saturday, 23 August 2008

FREE-SCORING Whitehaven winger Ade Adebisi is desperate for payback against Widnes at the Recre on Sunday claiming: We were robbed last time against them.

Sport Feature - Ade Adebisi

The Vikings snatched a 32-28 win at the Stobart Stadium in March, thanks to Mark Smith’s touch down with less than two minutes left on the clock.

Haven players and fans were convinced the hooker was offside and the try should have been disallowed.

And Adebisi, below, wants to put the record straight in a game Haven must win to stand a chance of finishing fourth in NL1.

“If the referee couldn’t see he was offside, I don’t know what offside is,” said Adebisi, who scored two tries in the narrow defeat, the day before Ged Stokes took charge of the team. “We were robbed. It’s not on, but that’s life.

“Sunday’s game is one we need to win. We’ve lost only once at home all season and have met all the challenges.

“Even though we haven’t beaten Widnes for a while, everyone’s looking forward to it. We just have to keep playing as we have before.”

Adebisi filled in at full-back for most of last weekend’s clash at Leigh, after skipper Gary Broadbent was hammered in a foul tackle.

The winger scored a fine try, to take his NL1 tally to 13, just one less than top-scorer Paul White, of Salford. But he will happily return to the flank against the Vikings.

“It was three or four years since I’d played full-back, and that was at under-18 and 21 level,” he added.

“It’s a lot different to playing on the wing and it would take me time to adapt. At full-back you get more opportunities to handle the ball. But I’m sure ‘Joey’ will be bouncing and back at full-back on Sunday. I think we are safe on that.”

A Haven win against the Vikings will guarantee a play-off place, and if Batley also beat Leigh at Mount Pleasant, Stokes’ side will finish fourth and be guaranteed a home game in the play-off first round.

n Yesterday’s Pride of Five £100 winner was B Bell, of Hinnings Road, Distington, with ticket number 1,670.