Cougars 21, Hunslet Hawks 8 - COUGARS turned in their most professional performance of the season to take revenge on Hunslet Hawks.

They should have won at South Leeds back in February, but this time they made sure they did not throw away golden scoring chances, and refused to be drawn into the scrappy tactics deployed by the Leeds side.

Make no mistake, Hunslet can be a good side; they recently beat Super League side Huddersfield Giants in the Challenge Cup, but this time the Cougars were in command.

The Keighley pack was always in control and the introduction of Ian Sinfield and Chris Hannah for Phil Stephenson and Danny Ekis actually gave the Cougars a boost. Normally the changes mean they loose a little intensity and a lot of 'go forward', but on Sunday they kept up the pressure and momentum.

The backs looked sharp, none more than Dave Foster who is starting to shine as a fine centre, adding razor sharp attacking skills to his rock-solid defence.

But the hub of the team was the half-back combination of Adam Mitchell and Matty Firth. Mitchell is nowhere near as dynamic as the injured Paul Ashton, but he is also growing in stature and plays to the strengths of those around him.

Firth seems to get better with every game. His kicking was superb and although they didn't all come off there wasn't one which didn't put Hunslet under pressure.

Coach Gary Moorby was particularly pleased with this crucial factor in the Cougar victory. "We've worked hard on our kicking game because it has been inconsistent. Matty is now our designated offensive kicker and we got the rewards for all the hard work," he said.

That intelligent kicking game meant Cougars dominated possession for long periods. At one point midway through the second half they had the ball for seven out of ten consecutive sets of six tackles, and no team can win games without the ball.

Hunslet got an early lead when Jon Liddell slotted a penalty after five minutes, but then Cougars took the game by the scruff of the neck with their first try. A Firth kick was fumbled, setting up a scrum in front of the Hunslet posts. Firth and Mitchell worked a 'run round' move which ended with a pass to Foster, who ghosted over for his first try of the season.

Mitchell converted and added two penalties before the second try, which was a beauty.

Oliver Wilkes burst through the defensive line inside his own half, and although his pass to Gareth Hewitt looked a bit forward Keighley played to the whistle. Hewitt found Jason Ramshaw, who juggled the ball before sending Simeon Hoyle racing under the posts. Mitchell converted to make it 16-2 at the break.

The second half started badly for the Cougars as Hunslet threw themselves a lifeline. Fearon raced through a huge gap to score against his old club, and made it a notable return in the 69th minute when he took a wild swing at Matt Foster and was dismissed after a couple of warnings. Liddell converted the try to make it 16-8, but there was never any danger of a second half collapse.

Firth added a drop goal before the Cougars sealed victory with their third try.

Chris Wainwright impressed from the bench, and his near perfect pass sent Karl Smith racing upfield. He was tackled 10 metres short, but slick passing saw Andy Robinson squeeze in at the corner to seal victory with five minutes left.

As the game wore on it got scrappier and indiscipline certainly didn't help Hunslet's cause. As well as losing Fearon they had Tony Howcroft sinbinned on the hour for a professional foul on Wainwright, then they were reduced to 11 men when Seal joined Wilkes in the bin after a brief skirmish out wide.

The Cougars now go to Batley on Sunday knowing that a win will see them into the knock-out stages of the Arriva Cup, and to make it through from a tough group will have been a major achievement.