With the highest tide of the year and the on shore wind favouring Manchester, it was Hoylake who within minutes of the kick off took the lead. A break though the middle of the park eluded the Manchester defence and the subsequent conversion bounced in off the bar to make it 7-0. With a beefier pack Hoylake's tight play was proving a handful for Manchester but Hoylake’s indiscipline allowed Manchester to convert two simple penalties to narrow Hoylake's lead to 7 – 6 at half-time.

The home side opened the second half with determination and within 10 minutes, a series of scrums on the Manchester 5m line saw the pressure eventually tell as a score was made in the corner to make it 12-6 to the hosts.

With their lineout so dominant all afternoon, Hoylake's decision to go for the touchline rather than the posts proved to be correct when a simple catch and drive made it a daunting 17-6, despite the conversion again being missed.

However, the game shifted in Manchester's favour when the referee took exception to repeated handling in the loose and Hoylake found themselves down to 14 men. With legs tiring Hoylake found their defence stretched and after a quickly taken penalty Manchester broke through to score to make it a more likely looking 17-11.

Once back to their full complement, the referee again objected to similar play at the breakdown and the home side were again reduced to 14 so that for the last few minutes Hoylake found themselves conceding too many penalties and hanging on grimly.

Then right on the stroke of full-time Manchester broke through after several phases of play. The conversion wasn't an easy one but the result hung on its outcome. As the kick left the boot there was a huge cheer from the Manchester faithful, however, it was optimism over reality. The kick missed, the referee blew for full-time to the relief of Hoylake's players and spectators and to the disappointment of the visitors.