Dixon frustrated as Smith expresses relief

John Dixon highlighted Ryan O’Hara’s sin-bin eight minutes from time as a defining factor in the Celtic Crusaders’ sixth consecutive Super League loss of the season. The prop-forward was shown a yellow card with the scores deadlocked at 22-22. Meanwhile, Warrington coach Tony Smith was quick to admit that his side didn't deal well with unfancied Cru.

It was an afternoon of frustration for the travelling South Walian supporters as the Crusaders came so close to grabbing their first ever Super League win. To check out an excellent report courtesy of messageboard regular 'SteveC' then click here.

The game was on a knife edge with eight minutes to go - but O'Hara's dismissal, for holding Chris Riley down in the tackle, proved crucial as Warrington snatched the win thanks to a late drop-goal and try.

"We let ourselves down a little bit," said Dixon. "We're not in a position to have 13 players against 12. A lack of discipline hurt us."

He added: "I thought the effort was terrific and you've got to give Warrington credit because they were there for 80 minutes.

"We're getting close - we could smell it today - but we're just not quite there yet and that's borne out by the result."

Wire boss Smith was relieved after his side escaped with a narrow victory. He said: I'm pleased that the players found a way to win the game when we didn't play very well. It's a good attribute to have. We were way off. We are setting high standards for ourselves and we're a bit disappointed."

Warrington now sit 10th in the table after picking up back-to-back wins, whilst Cru remained rooted to the bottom.