WIDNES had to hold off a spirited effort from Halifax before taking the spoils 28-18 at The Shay in a hard-fought Ladbrokes Challenge Cup tie.

In a sense it's only the underdogs that can be heroes when a Super League side takes on a lower division outfit and the standing ovation the home fans gave their team was fully justified.

Halifax were right in the game until the 75th minute when young prop forward Jay Chapelhow struck the killer blow for Widnes.

Th Vikings started the game on the front foot and took the lead after just four minutes when Aaron Heremaia forced his way over through some ineffective tackling. Rhys Hanbury added the extras to make it 6-0.

Any notion that the Vikings might be in for an easy afternoon was quickly dispelled as Fax hit back as winger James Saltonstall got on the end of a cut-out pass for a try superbly goaled by ex-Viking Steve Tyrer.

Hanbury did well to stop another raid from the home side with a strong tackle followed by a one-on-one ball steal and Widnes reagined their lead on 22 minutes.

Hooker Lloyd White was the tryscorer as he burrowed over from dummy-half after multiple sets on the Halifax line.

The goal made it 12-6 and on the half-hour Widnes struck again with a six-pointer as Joe Mellor put second row Chris Houston in from a short ball.

The Vikings would happily have taken a 12-point lead into the dressing rooms at half-time but were hit with a sucker punch.

With the hooter imminent, Scott Murrell sent Halifax prop Adam Robinson crashing over to get his side back in it at 18-12.

The psychology of scoring just before the break seemed to work in the home side's favour and they came out for the second half breathing fire.

Just four minutes in Murrell's smart kick caught Widnes napping allowing fullback Miles Greenwood to regather and score by the posts.

With the scores level at 18-18 you could almost sense the tension and for a while it looked like Fax were handling it better.

The Vikings were struggling to make headway but they crossed for a crucial score when Heremaia's clever dummy-half work allowed Charly Runciman to cross at the left corner.

A 22-18 lead was precarious with 16 minutes remaining but Widnes started to win the territory battle.

With five minutes left, Mellor's kick towards the posts looked to be bounding over the dead-ball line but never-say-die Chapelhow had other ideas. He managed to slam it down just inside the in-goal area for the clinching score.

Credit to Fax, even when the game was up they gave it their best shot.

But it's Widnes who went into the quarter-finals draw.

Halifax: Greenwood; Sharp, Smeaton, Tyrer, Saltonstall; C Robinson, Murrell; Bennion, B Moore, Tangata, Manning, Heaton, Fairbank. Subs: Johnston, Kaye, R Moore, A Robinson. Widnes: Hanbury; Thompson, Dean, Runciman, Chamberlain; Mellor, Heremaia; Cahill, White, Dudson, Houston, Sa, Leuluai. Subs: Johnstone, Manuokafoa, Whitley, J Chapelhow.

Referee: M Woodhead.

Half-time: 12-18.

Attendance: 2,032 .