Wigan Warriors 28

Saints 30 BRUISED, battered but bouyant - that was magnificent, shorthanded Saints on Sunday after a game boasting more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie thriller!

A classic encounter, launched by a Wigan blitz which threatened to engulf them, saw the Knowsley Road side mount a tremendous fight-back to earn a cliff-hanging, against-the-odds victory.

These then, were the bare bones of a compelling game, laced with incidents both sensational and occasionally unsavoury, before a record 17,428 crowd in the cauldron of the JJB Stadium .

That Saints were equal to the ultimate test of toppling Warriors from pole position to stand behind leaders Bradford Bulls on points differential spoke volumes for their resilience, because they trailed 16-nil after just 11 minutes!

A mountain to climb, but fuelled by 'pay-back taunts,' it was eventually scaled with a mental and physical steel that had coach Ian Millward leaving his seat to congratulate a Saints squad who "toughed it out and came up with a great win."

And, although team-work was the key to Saints' ending of Warriors' unbeaten home record with their third win at Wigan in four years - and the first double over the old enemy in 20 - there were also epic solo contributions, notably by man-of-the-match Tommy Martyn.

Almost discarded at the start of the season, Martyn became the first Saint to score a hat-trick versus Wigan since Harry Pinner in 1979, and the fact that all three were sanctioned by video referee Gerry Kershaw is a clue to the intensity. Winger Steve Hall (21 this week) and substitute forward Tim Jonkers (a mere 19) stood their corner with the best of 'em, with the spirit in the Knowsley Road campaign being epitomised by Apollo Perelini, who insisted on going back in the second half after a pain-killing injection.

Wigan were first out of the blocks within four minutes when a brilliant break by skipper Andy Farrell saw Terry Newton, Willie Peters and Jason Robinson put Steve Renouf over in the left-hand corner.

Farrell failed with the conversion attempt, but the influential Wigan leader sliced through the visitors' flimsy tackling yet again, and his long pass found erstwhile Saint Gary Connolly, who sent David Hodgson over for Andy to convert.

There was more than a hint of a cricket score when Neil Cowie's sleight-of-hand opened the way for Chris Chester to cross for another six-pointer, and Wigan appeared irresistible at this stage against a Saints side guility of elementary errors.

In stepped Sean Hoppe to provide much-needed inspiration with a glorious individual try goaled by Long, and when Martyn charged down Farrell's kick on half-way to beat Kris Radlinski to the touchdown, Saints were back in business with arrears of 16-14 on 30 minutes.

Farrell nudged the Warriors further ahead when Vila Matautia fouled Newton, but Saints might have turned round in front only for Anthony Sullivan losing possession after Long had chipped over the Wigan try-line.

Soon after restart the rumbustious Vila found himself on report for an offence on Renouf, and with Farrell tacking on the penalty and Peters dropping a goal, it appeared that Wigan were set for consolidation.

Cometh the hour cometh the man in the person of Saints' full-back Paul Wellens, who scythed down the flying Renouf with a real game-breaker of a tackle when all seemed lost, and the stage was set for Martyn to use

Matautia as a decoy for his second try. Peters put Renouf in for his double, and Farrell inched Wigan's lead to 27-20, but after Perelini, Paul Sculthorpe (now at centre ) and Matautia went close Saints - or more specifically Sullivan - scored a try safe in club folklore.

There appeared no danger when Martyn cleared a chip-through within shadow of Saints' posts before feeding Sully 80 yards out, and the Welsh express hoodwinked both Robinson and Hodgson for arguably the best of the 201 tries he has scored for Saints.

Suddenly the game was there for the taking, and there was just three nailbiting minutes left when Martyn had the ball knocked from his grasp by Lee Gilmour, but Tommy kept his head to plunge over, and there was an agonising wait before video man Kershaw gave it the nod.

Front-of-the posts though it was, Long's fifth goal was a real pressure kick, and all thoughts now turn to the visit of the Pie-Eaters in September, and with it the chance of a treble.