The Lions kicked off and from Chris Atkins kick David March knocked on and this put the Lions on the attack and Shaun Robinson almost scored but Stuart Littlers kick just ran dead in the corner. The Lions though did take the lead in the sixth minute when Rob Lever fed Atkin who raced away to score to the left of the posts and he also added the conversion but Cougars hit back quickly and Scott Law crashed over from short range with Danny Lawton converting and three minutes later they took the lead when Law again crossed from short range to add a second try and again Lawton added the kick.
Mike Butt added the next Lions try on twenty minutes when Atkin sent Rhodri Lloyd through a gap and passed the ball to his wing support who went in at the left corner but Atkin pulled the conversion attempt across the front of the posts and it got even better for the Lions who were ripping the Cougars defence to shreds down the centre of the field when Lever raced thirty metres before handing on to Ben White in support and he went in under the posts and the simple conversion was added to give the Lions a four point lead. Cougars drew level again on twenty-eight minutes when Josh Lynam went over near the posts but Lawton somehow missed the simple conversion.
Atkin then had a drop goal attempt that never really got of the ground and it was that low it struck the post pad and the Cougars got the ball back only to lose it again just inside the Lions half and Rhodri Lloyd made them pay for their error when Atkin snapped up the ball and sent him on a thirty-five metre run for the posts and Atkin added the simple conversion to give the Lions a six point lead and this became a ten point lead on the stroke of half time when Atkin again shaped up to go for a drop goal but his path was blocked so he swung a pass to the right to White and he moved it on to Littler who sent Robinson racing in at the corner for the try but the conversion attempt from Atkin hit the posts and bounced out as the hooter sounded.
The Lions increased their lead just after the restart when Cougars were pinned for ball stealing on twelve metres and Atkin landed a simple penalty kick but Cougars were not lying down and they got a penalty just inside the Lions half on forty nine minutes and from the pressure on the line Ollie Pursglove burst a tackle to score on the left and Lawton made no mistake this time to put Cougars back within six points.
The Lions had a couple of great chances midway through the half but last ditch tackles held them out with both Rhodri Lloyd and Atkin being held up over the line and then on sixty-three minutes they forced a goal line drop out when Josh Guzdek was tackled over the dead ball line and the Lions put pressure back on the line but again the Cougars defence held strong and Atkin dropped a goal on the last tackle and the crowd behind the goal thought he had missed it until referee Chris Kendall signalled it was successful. The Widnes pitch is a very fast pitch and both sides seemed to be tiring in the final ten minutes but Cougars scored a fortunate try with nine minutes from time when Paul March sent up a bomb kick and Richie Hawkyard for the only time in the afternoon didn’t get near it and it bounced just nicely for March to regather it and score by the posts with Lawton converting to bring them within a point, GAME ON !
Cougars seemed to have gained a second wind in with just over a minute to go they could easily have snatched victory when Andy Gabriel had a clear run for the line but decided to come inside and was tackled in front of the posts and on the last tackle Paul Handforth went for a drop goal but Josh Barlow managed to charge it down and the ball ran free with just seconds left and the Lions had it back with the clock winding down it was kicked into touch and the final hooter sounded and the Lions jumped for joy as the Cougar players slumped to the ground.
The big following of Lions fans were jumping for joy behind the posts and the players went straight to them to celebrate and some even got sprayed with champagne. After the team were presented with the cup and Atkin was presented with a nice cup too for winning the man of the match award they were back celebrating with the fans.
