Sunday 17 August 2014 18:35, UK
Huddersfield coach Paul Anderson described his side as "dire", despite watching the Giants extend their winning run to four matches with a 28-14 victory over Widnes.
The hosts were well below their best but still had too much power and skill for a Widnes team looking to bounce back from the disappointment of their Challenge Cup semi-final defeat and struggling to cling on to the eighth play-off spot in the First Utility Super League.
The Giants opened the scoring with Larne Patrick's seventh-minute try but were trailing 8-6 until skipper Danny Brough carved out a length-of-the-field try for Joe Wardle and they then went on to dominate the second half, adding further tries through Jermaine McGillvary, Antonio Kaufusi and Shaun Lunt.
Both teams were dire, to be honest.
Anderson said: "Both teams were dire, to be honest. We allowed outside influences to dictate the way we played. Widnes slowed down the ruck. I felt like I was going to play myself, it was so slow at one point.
He added: "We spoke at half-time about being patient because there were opportunities all over the field.
"There was never a point when I thought we were in trouble, I thought defensively we looked pretty good all game."
While Huddersfield maintained their challenge for a top-four finish, Widnes are coming under pressure to stay in the top eight after winning just three of their last 12 matches.
Coach Denis Betts said: "After the highs of the semi-final and the disappointment of things on the back of it, it wasn't a great game. It was a bit stop-start, but I thought we handled their big men pretty well.
"We showed some good things, we just lacked a cutting edge at times.
"It was a real, strong effort. There was good character in the team and defensively we showed some real strength.
"The disappointing thing for me is lack of composure when they scored just before half-time. We were in the lead and should have gone in at half-time feeling better about ourselves."
