St Helens have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup after securing a well-earned 36-20 victory over Widnes Vikings at Langtree Park.
On the back of a guard of honour for recently retired Paul Wellens, the home side managed to get off the mark early on when Adam Swift went the full length to cross over three minutes in.
Joe Mellor levelled up the try count soon after, however, before Danny Craven added the extras to make it six apiece on the scoreboard.
The Saints were able to edge back in front when Mark Percival successfully split the sticks with his penalty attempt, and the youngster was at it again when touching down at the end of a fine team move.
Widnes were left with it all to do when Matty Dawson turned the screw a little more by crossing over in the corner to extend his side's lead, but Craven did pull his side back into the contest moments before the interval.
A rejuvenated Vikings side emerged for the second half, crossing over twice in the opening 13 minutes through Patrick Ah Van and Chris Dean to well and truly turn the game on its head.
There was to be more excitement to come, though, as Kyle Amor restored the 2008 finalist's advantage, before Jordan Turner found the corner and Percival kicked a late pen to put the icing on the cake.
Star man Percival then added further misery by crossing over for his second in the dying seconds to ensure that the Chemics' long wait for success in the Challenge Cup goes on for another year.
Daniel Lewis
