1895 Cup Final reaction: Craig Lingard frustrated with slow start as Batley Bulldogs denied dramatic Hollywood ending

Lingard’s men, who were second best for large periods of the first half, miraculously recovered from 12-0 down and were a Luke Hooley conversion away from taking the gripping contest to golden point extra time after an improbable Elliot Kear try - 30 seconds after the final hooter had sounded - but the kick landed agonisingly wide.

“If it was a fairytale or Hollywood ending then Luke would have kicked that goal and we’d have won it in golden point extra time but it wasn’t to be,” pondered Lingard. “It’s just a little bit frustrating and disappointing that at the start of the game we didn’t quite get into the flow of it in completing our sets and not getting the field position that we had talked about.

“Halifax managed the game better than us in that first 40 minutes and it laid the platform for them getting the victory.”

He added: “Our first four sets in possession were incomplete so it didn’t allow us to build any field position or pressure and make them defend their own line. For the first 13 minutes we had the ball in hand for 13 tackles and we defended three times that much.

“When you do get the ball your carries aren’t as effective as you need them to be because you are fatigued from the constant defending you’ve been doing. We were masters of our own downfall in that situation.”

On an improved second half performance, Lingard said:

“We defended tough in their 20 metre area, completed sets and ended sets well and bought some field position and territory and managed to post some points and put them under a bit of pressure. Credit to Halifax for defending their own line like they did.

“I must admit I was worried at 12-0 because I didn’t think we had built our way into the game at all. Once we started doing what we had talked about doing we were rolling down the field and ended our sets in good areas and made Halifax work the ball from their own line and forced a couple of errors. But we didn’t do it often enough. That is the ultimate review of the game and Halifax did.”

On Kear’s try and subsequent kick from Hooley, Lingard revealed:

“It was just the desperation. It was keep-the-ball-alive-at-all-costs. The desperation as well from Halifax to defend their own line. It was there for all to see.

“Luke is gutted. He is a competitor and a big game player. He showed a lot of bravery stepping up and taking that kick.

“As a kicker, ultimately, you’re a hero or not. He wasn’t a hero with that kick but I have no qualms about Luke stepping up and taking that kick again and I’m sure if he had another shot now he'd put the ball on the tee and slot it between the sticks.

“That shows what kind of a player he is and how much he has matured and grown.”

The game was Batley’s first trip to Wembley in the club’s 143-year history. On the experience, Lingard said:

“It’s been a really great experience. It’s not every day you come down to Wembley. For little old Batley to be able to do that and enjoy the day has been great.

“We’re a close group and we’ll give each other a cuddle and then we can dust ourselves down and go again for Keighley away next week.”