They were pushed all the way though by the men from Ford Lane, and it took a late try from ‘super sub’ Allan Breeden – who was making his first senior appearance of the season - to finally get his team over the finishing line.

The Wids had been knocked out at this stage of the competition in the previous two years, so the ‘red-and-blacks’ will have simply been delighted to make it third time lucky.

They will now take on Vale of Lune in the final, at a date and venue to be decided.

The Widnes performance was not perhaps quite as good as they have produced in recent weeks, particularly in the second half when they drifted away from the game plan and lost some shape and discipline.

However, that was hardly surprising given that they were under intense pressure as well as having to deal with two players spending time in the sin bin and successfully having to manage any number of changes from the sideline.

Nevertheless, and despite all that, their defensive qualities stood out to help get them over the finishing line.

So, to summarise, this one was all about the win and securing a place in the final; something they would quite happily have settled for at the start of the campaign.

For now, though, they must put all that to the back of their minds, and concentrate on matters closer to home, starting with a difficult trip to Altrincham Kersal on Saturday.

The heavy overnight rain finally gave way to some drier and brighter conditions. However, as kick off time approached, the dark clouds drifted in overhead and threatened a further downpour.

Didsbury got the game underway to provide the home side with an opportunity to get their hands on some early possession.

There were a couple of half breaks from Bobby Finch and then Jamie Patient, before they lost possession close to the line as the first score beckoned.

Liam Lawton was an early casualty as he had to leave the field after taking a knock to be replaced by Tom Spencer.

For the time being at least, the visitors were dealing with everything the Wids were able to throw at them. That was until the 17th minute, however, when the pack got to work close to the line which created an opportunity for Charlie Feeley to cross for the opening try.

Liam McGovern added the extras to make it 7 – nil.

With most of the game continuing to be played inside the Didsbury quarter of the field, Widnes were then able to capitalise on an error to set up a counter attack from where Lewis George raced clear to score.

After 28 minutes, a Bobby Finch chip through saw the visitors cough up another mistake, which eventually led to a Widnes penalty, which McGovern converted and put his team three scores to the good.

Unfazed by the deficit, Didsbury came roaring straight back to stretch the Wids defensive line out wide enabling Cam Arnott to cross for a well worked try.

A few minutes later, lively Didsbury scrum half Joe MacPherson then converted a penalty to make it 15 – 8.

As the half time whistle approached, Widnes were able to re-gather their thoughts, and when their forwards got to work inside the Didsbury danger zone, captain Tom O’Neill was on hand to cross for a vital five pointer, which McGovern then converted and give his team a bit of extra breathing space on the scoreboard at 22pts – 8.

The start of the second half was all a bit scrappy, but after the Wids had lost Rio Hamlett who took a heavy knock, followed by another player going into the sin-bin, the Didsbury self-belief and confidence began to grow.

A second Widnes yellow card lifted their opponents even further, and eventually on 66 minutes the excellent Wids scrambling defence did finally crack as Didsbury crossed for a second try through Tom Andrews after some intense pressure.

Seven minutes later, scrum half MacPherson converted a penalty to make it a one score contest again at 22pts – 16.

After that, Widnes were finally able to stem the flow by going back to basics and using their forwards to good effect to deny their opponents both possession and field position.

In the closing moments, Widnes were able to give it one more go, and it was left to that man Allan Breeden, who did what he does best by scattering several Didsbury defenders on a powerful thirty metre dash to the line for a try that made the game safe.

With time now up, Liam McGovern then added the extra two points to complete the scoring and put Widnes into their first Lancashire Cup final since 2022.

Dan Rourke was selected as the Widnes player of the match, whilst Harry Rigby, Josh Vize and Joe MacPherson all caught the eye for Didsbury.

Afterwards, Head coach Liam McGovern said “Cup semi finals are always going to be tough and challenging to win and today was no different.

I was happy with the way we performed first half with patience, control and intelligence, and going into half time with the score at 22 - 8 was a fair reflection of the game.

The second half was a completely different challenge with us going down to thirteen men at times and Didsbury having 90% of the ball in our twenty-two offering a lot of good attacking shape.

But they were unable to break us down through some fantastic team defensive work, and this was later rewarded later in the half, when we did get the ball to score the decisive try to kill the game.”

He added “I must congratulate the players, as we are looking very fit at the moment, which is all down to the hard work the whole squad is producing at training.

Overall, delighted to be in the Lancashire Cup Final, and we can now enjoy the league season knowing we have a big occasion to look forward to in 2026”.

Widnes: C O’Donnell, B Finch, J Patient, L Lawton, L George, L McGovern, G Hatton, D Rourke, R Mafi, S Whitty, M Garrity, C Feeley, M Jones, E Price, T O’Neill (c). Reps: R Hamlett, K Arndell, W Patient, A Breeden, T Spencer.