UPBEAT Giants coach Jon Sharp is backing his side to rekindle their Super League play-off push despite a 40-12 setback at Widnes.
A second-half collapse, when Widnes chalked up 28 unanswered points, turned an evenly-balanced contest into a one-side stroll yesterday.
Huddersfield remained in the top six in the aftermath of this disappointing defeat.
But they could fall out of the play-off zone depending on the outcome of today's lunchtime meeting of Salford and Wigan at The Willows.
Hopes had been high of building on the thrilling 26-24 success at Wigan with a third straight win.
And in the first half, when Paul March and Paul Smith both scored their first tries of the season and the Giants led 8-0 and 12-8, their seemed every chance of success.
But it all went wrong after the break, when Widnes winger Gray Viane, who had levelled after 33 minutes, went on to complete a hat trick of tries, much to the delight of home supporters in a 5,946 crowd.
"It was one of those days, but we haven't become a bad side in a week," said Sharp.
"I thought Widnes played as well as they possibly could have done and everything seemed to come off.
"We compounded our problems by forcing the passes and putting pressure on ourselves by making needless mistakes."
Sharp went into the match without influential half-back Stanley Gene, who failed a fitness test on a knee injury.
And he lost both winger Hefin O'Hare (knee) and centre Chris Nero (dead leg) during the first half.
"That prevented us from making the interchanges we had planned," said Sharp, who brought Paul March into the starting XIII and Paul White onto the bench.
"And any team would miss a player like Stanley, who has been in excellent form.
"We had rested well and trained well, but we just didn't quite hit the mark.
"But there's no panic. We will bounce back."
