THE result did not provide the lift they hoped for after two executive directors resigned and playmaker Jason Ferris left the club this week, but Leigh coach Darren Abram was at least encouraged.

Abram, whose side are still to register their first win since promotion to the top flight, said: "I thought we played a lot of nice rugby today, but Widnes defended very well and cut out some of our options.

"Everything is being thrown at us right from the start of Super League and we are still learning.

"It's a shame that we had only 16 weeks to prepare for this competition and only five weeks to get a team together and that is the difference."

Widnes coach Frank Endacott admitted his side were outplayed at times by Leigh Centurions.

The Vikings came out on top in the battle of the engage Super League's bottom two with a hard-fought 35-28 success at the Halton Stadium.

But Leigh put in a battling performance. They twice led and had the Vikings hanging on after claiming two late tries.

Andrew Emilio crossed twice for Widnes but it needed a late drop goal from Paul Crook to settle their nerves.

Endacott said: "An ugly win is better than a pretty loss but we need to show a lot of improvement if we are to beat Warrington on Tuesday.

"At times during the game I thought Leigh played the better football but it's about the result and we got that today.

"Paul Crook had a very good game, he handled the pressure well and with a bit of fine tuning he can be a really good player for us. However, Terry O'Connor was my player of the match he was great for us."

The Vikings scored six tries but Leigh managed five themselves, two from winger John Wilshere.

Widnes had to play without stand-off Owen Craigie due to a knee injury and Endacott revealed he faces a long lay-off.

The Vikings are already missing captain Shane Millard with a broken jaw.

He added: "Owen Craigie could be out for eight to 12 weeks after he had a scan on his knee injury.

"Adam Hughes also hurt his hamstring going over in the corner, so it's going to be a frustrating year for us with regards to injuries."