Barrow Raiders utility Greg Worthington says last weekend’s win over Keighley Cougars will give them confidence ahead of Sunday’s home clash with Widnes Vikings.
The Raiders edged a hard-fought contest 18-16 at the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium, and in doing so climbed out of the Betfred Championship’s bottom two.
Another important test lies ahead, with the Raiders set to host a Widnes side struggling for form, having lost four of their last five matches.
Worthington says their performance against Keighley was symptomatic of a side keen to push on and give their all, in a bid to move clear of relegation trouble.
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“Getting the points last weekend was the main thing,” he said. “There were some elements of our performance that we weren’t happy with, but the main goal for the weekend was to get the result and we managed to do that.
“We’ll take the positives from that game and roll on forward into this weekend against Widnes. Hopefully we can put in a longer performance over that 80-minute period and make things a bit more comfortable for ourselves.
“During the game aginst Keighley, we felt confident that we could come out on the right side of the result. We set our stall out to make sure we could get points at home, and we’re hoping we can kick on from Sunday and bring that confidence into this weekend.
“The goal was to get the points by any means necessary, and looking at the volume of players who are putting their bodies on the line, it shows where we are as a group and how determined we are to get out of the relegation zone.”
Sunday will be the Raiders’ second home game in the space of a week, and Worthington is keen to see himself and the rest of the squad step up to the mark and give the supporters something to shout about.
However, he acknowledges that they will need to be on top of their game if they want to extend their recent good run of form.
“There are no easy fixtures in this division,” the 32-year-old added.
“You only need to win two or three games on the bounce and you can climb the table quite rapidly.
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“You look at the league, and there are a lot of teams who are only a few points apart. The first team to find some consistency near the bottom of the division will probably claw themselves out of this relegation battle, and we need to make sure that it’s us who can do that.
“We want to perform in front of our own fans too, and throughout the season it’s been a frustrating journey for them.
“They’ve shown great support, win or lose, and the boys appreciate it hugely. With their support, I’m sure we can turn our fortunes around and be on the other side of those close games.
“At the weekend, you’ll see two teams with real belief that they can win, and it should make for a great spectacle.”
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