Handforth leads Bulldogs' wild celebrations by the seaside

Batley Bulldogs ended their 86-year wait for silverware yesterday with victory over Widnes in the Northern Rail Cup final. Rugby league correspondent Dave Craven reports from Blackpool.

WHEN Widnes spilled the ball in the final seconds, jubilant Batley captain Paul Handforth sprinted 20 metres – faster than he had done throughout the entire game – towards the Batley supporters.

He slid on his knees behind the posts with sheer joy prompting another huge eruption of noise from the Bulldogs fanatics who drowned out the wail of Blackpool's incessant squawking seagulls

It did not matter that the game was not actually over.

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Handforth knew he was going to get his hands on a rare piece of silverware and he was elated. But think what must have been going through the minds of those hordes of travelling Batley fans.

A few among the 2,000 plus may have been around for the last major final they had ventured to, the Yorkshire Cup in 1952 which ended in defeat, but almost certainly none had seen their beloved side lift the Championship Trophy a further 28 years previously.

To all those St Helens supporters who bemoaned a lack of a trophy last season, have a wander down to Mount Pleasant. Yes, Batley are a club who could rightly be labeled success-starved. Well, not anymore.

After Handforth returned to his feet and realised he had the absurdity of a scrum to feed with just six seconds remaining – referee Robert Hicks for some reason stopped the clock even though Widnes's players had also packed in – the hooter finally sounded and the celebrations began.

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Chairman Kevin Nicholas, who has helped keep the club alive for so many years, was down on the touchline looking ready to explode with a mixture of both pride and maybe a little surprise and it was no shock to see just a few excitable fans race on to the pitch to greet their heroes despite the best efforts of the tannoy announcer to deter them.

After 86 years, what would you do?

Having not experienced a major final for so long, it was obvious Batley fans would descend in their droves to the seaside resort yesterday and they brought some vivid colour.

It is all most of the town's rugby folk have talked about since their semi-final success last month – Bloomfield Road, July 18 and Widnes Vikings for the Northern Rail Cup.

They sang as loudly when they were behind and staring defeat in the face as they did when they had taken a surprise 12-0 lead; it mattered little what the result would be, actually arriving was a feat.

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But, Karl Harrison's band of homegrown warriors – the only professional team in the UK without a single overseas players in their ranks and all but two having been born within five miles of Batley itself – conspired to deliver them the perfect result as well.

It was fitting that the feat should occur at Bloomfield Road, home of Blackpool FC who have recently made their own fairytale come true by reaching the Premier League.

One football fan who came down to watch the rugby said he's not been able to stop smiling since the day the Tangerines won promotion. They never expected it to occur in their lifetime and won't care what happens when they take on Manchester United, Chelsea and co because they are there and that is all that matters.

For all those Batley fans who wake up this morning, no doubt with sore heads and hazy memories, the very same smile will no doubt emerge over their faces too.

They do not care about Super League but their humble club are Northern Rail Cup champions.