Widnes: (6) 6 Tries: Myler Goals: O'Neill Castleford: (0) 7 Tries: Hepworth Goals: Godwin Drops: Maloney

The clash was incredibly nervy and Steven Myler crossed for the only try in a fractious first half.

And as the tension increased, Jon Hepworth scored on 65 minutes with Wayne Godwin's goal levelling the game.

The draw would have saved Widnes and sent the Tigers down but Maloney's drop mean the battle goes to the final week.

Castleford, who have never been out of the top flight in their 78-year history, now need to beat Wakefield next Saturday and hope Widnes lose by a similar margin against Hull to keep their place in Super League.

But despite the win, coach Gary Mercer believes the Tigers are still favourites for the drop.

"We are definitely still underdogs," he said. "It's a big, big game next week.

"I had faith in the players. I looked in their eyes at half-time and I could see they wanted to win.

You couldn't fault the commitment of the players Widnes coaching advisor Frank Endacott

"I told them to be patient. We were nervous for the first 10 or 15 minutes and the ball was pretty wet. But credit to the lads, they showed a lot of resilience and worked very hard."

Widnes coaching advisor Frank Endacott, who saw a Myler drop-goal attempt hit the upright as well as a late try claim ruled out, admitted his side were gutted by the result.

"There's a real hollow feeling at the moment," he said. "It was the result we dreaded. But we'll pick them up. You never give up in this game.

"I'd like to think it won't come down to points difference. That's there as a bonus but we'd like to get the two points for winning the game.

"You couldn't fault the commitment of the players. They went out and did their best and I thought we were the best side for 95% of the game."

Widnes: Holmes, Devlin, Bird, Hughes, Murphy, J. O'Neill, S. Myler, J. O'Neill, Millard, McCurrie, Frame, Hay, Finnigan.

Replacements: Whitaker, Mills, Gallagher, Fa-alogo.

Castleford: Gibson, Pryce, Rogers, Saxton, Mellor, Davis, Maloney, Greenhill, Godwin, Lynch, Harland, M. Smith, Hudson.

Replacements: Sykes, Tookey, Hepworth, Jackson.

Referee: Karl Kirkpatrick (Warrington)