#ChallengeCup
Having been beaten the final the year before, Widnes returned to the twin towers of Wembley to face Leeds, who themselves were looking for their tenth Challenge Cup win in fourteen appearances.
A crowd of 80,871 filled Wembley with great noise and colour for the showpiece Final. It was Leeds who took an early 2-0 lead after Widnes’ Bill Ramsey poleaxed Kevin Dick with a high swinging arm. Dick regained his feet and slotted over the resulting penalty.
Widnes hit back through a Ray Dutton goal and Mal Aspey converted try to lead 7-2 before a John Holmes kick bamboozled the Widnes winger Stuart Wright allowing John Atkinson to pounce and score.
Leeds trailed 7-5 at the break, but a strong second half saw them keep Widnes scoreless and lift the coveted trophy.
The Loiners re-took the lead through Dyl after winning a scrum against the head deep in the Widnes half.
With further Leeds pressure on the Widnes line, Dick dummied and scored under the posts. The resulting conversion gave the West Yorkshire team a 13-7 lead with only minutes left to play.
Kevin Dick added to his personal points tally with a drop goal and a penalty to give him a haul of 10 points and secure a 16-7 win for Leeds.
Match Facts
Leeds:
Bryan Murrell, Alan Smith, Neil Hague, Les Dyl, John Atkinson, John Holmes, Kevin Dick, Mick Harrison, David Ward, Steve Pitchford, Graham Eccles, Phil Cookson, Stanley Fearnley. Subs: Roy Dickinson, David Smith
Tries: Dyl, Atkinson, Dick
Goals: Dick (3)
Drop Goals: Dick
Widnes:
Ray Dutton, Stuart Wright, Mal Aspey, David Eckersley, Dennis O’Neill, Eric Hughes, Reg Bowden, Bill Ramsey, Keith Elwell, Jim Mills, Alan Dearden, Mick Adams, Doug Laughton. Subs: Derek George, John Foran
Tries: Aspey
Goals: Dutton (2)
Attendance: 80,871
