York and Featherstone to meet in 1895 Cup final
Championship sides York and Featherstone will contest next month’s 1895 Cup final after a thrilling afternoon of semi-final action.
The Knights battled past Swinton 36-22 at the LNER Stadium, before Rovers ended their 38-year wait for a trip to Wembley with a tense 24-18 victory over Widnes.
The 1895 Cup trophy, won by Sheffield in its only previous instalment back in August 2019, will be contested as a curtain raiser to the Challenge Cup final between St Helens and Castleford on Saturday 17 July.
In the day’s first game, Swinton, without a league win in eight in 2021, were well in the contest at 12-12 midway through the first half.
However, York took control of the tie with tries either side of half-time from experienced centre Ryan Atkins and Kriss Brinning.
The Lions threatened a comeback heading into the final quarter, but Mikey Lewis put the game beyond doubt with a long-range finish 11 minutes from time.
Just like their Championship rivals, Featherstone didn’t have it all their own way as they looked to continue the fine form that saw them win their opening seven league matches.
Having raced into an early 16-0 lead courtesy of Brad Day’s double and a powerful effort from Wales international Craig Kopczak, Ste Tyrer and Adam Lawton dragged Widnes back into the game before the interval.
Frankie Halton finished off Fa’amanu Brown’s initial break to edge Rovers further clear heading into the second half, but Lawton’s second of the afternoon reduced the gap to four points.
However, Craig Hall knocked over a decisive penalty goal which ultimately proved to be just beyond the Vikings’ reach, despite a valiant display, as they went in search of another 1895 Cup final appearance.
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