Widnes Vikings have won the Northern Rail Cup after a 34-18 win over Barrow Raiders at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool.

The win also means that the Vikings are the first team that can apply for a 2012 Super League license.

The Raiders fought hard throughout the game but didn’t have enough to overcome Widnes, who led for most of the game.

The match started in bad-tempered fashion with three fights in the first five minutes; the third, at a scrum, saw Jim Gannon and Brett McDermott sent to the bin and a penalty kicked by Darren Holt.

The Vikings hit back quickly however, Richard Fletcher racing over the line and Craig Hall adding the two points for a 6-2 lead.

Mark Smith was held up over the line, and after a period of sustained Barrow pressure the Raiders re-took the lead through Zeb Luisi, Holt kicking the conversion.

Widnes, however, leapt into a commanding lead before the half-time interval: first it was John Duffy who went over from dummy half, Hall converting.

James Webster’s well-placed kick to the corner was touched down by Kevin Penny, and Penny was the try-scorer moments later after some quick handling, Hall converting the latter.

Widnes pressure after the restart could not result in another try, and instead James Nixon found enough space at the corner to touch down for Barrow, cutting the score to 22-12.

However, the Vikings struck almost immediately afterwards through Toa Kohe-Love, Hall’s conversion giving them a 28-12 advantage.

Both sides had chances, but it was the Raiders who finally added another try to the total, Kohe-Love’s fumble touched down by Scott Kaighan, Holt converting.

There was no way back however, and Widnes had the final say when Richard Varkulis powered his way over the line, Hall adding another two points to the final score.