1988–89 Lancashire Cup

The 1988–89 Lancashire Cup was the 76th occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition was held. Wigan won the trophy, beating Salford 22–17 in the final.
This was Wigan’s fifth appearance, and fourth consecutive victory in a run of four victories and five appearances in five successive years. The attendance was the fifth in five years to reach almost 20,000, and the receipts set a new record, exceeding the previous record by approximately £4,500.

Background

This season the total number of entrants remained at the 16 level.

With this full sixteen members there was no need for “blank” or “dummy” fixtures or any byes.

Competition and results

First round

Involved eight matches and 16 clubs.

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Barrow	10-24	Wigan	Craven Park	5528
2	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Carlisle	17-7	Chorley Borough	Gifford Park	645
3	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Oldham	64-2	Workington Town	Watersheddings	3877
4	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Rochdale Hornets	25-14	Fulham	Athletic Grounds	645
5	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Runcorn Highfield	4-42	Warrington	Canal Street	2017
6	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Salford	42-8	Whitehaven	The Willows	2551
7	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Swinton	24-14	Leigh	Station Road	3225
8	Sun 18 Sep 1988	Widnes	32-24	St. Helens	Naughton Park	10764

Round 2 - Quarter-finals

Involved 4 matches and 8 clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Wed 28 Sep 1988	Oldham	2-18	Salford	Watersheddings	5497
2	Wed 28 Sep 1988	Warrington	34-18	Carlisle	Wilderspool	2586
3	Wed 28 Sep 1988	Widnes	38-4	Swinton	Naughton Park	4988
4	Wed 28 Sep 1988	Wigan	36-4	Rochdale Hornets	Central Park	7719

Round 3 – Semi-finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs

Game No	Fixture Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Venue	Att	Rec	Notes	Ref
1	Wed 05 Oct 1988	Salford	15-2	Warrington	The Willows	7316
2	Wed 12 Oct 1988	Wigan	14-10	Widnes	Central Park	17813

Final

The match was played at Knowsley Road, St Helens, with an attendance of 19,154 and receipts of £71,879.