Keighley Cougars 42, Wath Brow Hornets 0

Cougars player-coach Paul March praised the professionalism of his side following their routine Tetley's Challenge Cup victory over Wath Brow Hornets yesterday.

Cougars dismissed any potential banana skin with a dominant display against the Cumbrian amateur side, scoring eight tries as they secured a place in the fourth round with relative ease.

“It was a very professional display,” said March.

“They did exactly what we thought they would do and come at us in the first 15 minutes.

“But we came through that and we scored some good tries in the end and kept them scoreless, which I’m delighted with because we defended strongly at times.”

March had to wait a quarter of an hour to see his side take the lead, Danny Lawton crossing for the try at full stretch after Danny Jones’ high kick was fumbled.

Jones added the conversion and kicked his second goal of the afternoon seven minutes later when Paul Handforth released Josh Lynam with a precise pass to score under the posts.

While the Kingstone Press Championship National Conference League side did enjoy small spells camped on Keighley’s line, they rarely threatened to turn any pressure into points.

The game was effectively put to bed in the 33rd minute when Handforth again split the Hornets defence to send James Craven over the line.

When Paul White raced over from 30 yards following a rampant break from the impressive Ash Lindsay, the Cougars held a firm 20-0 lead at the break.

White then crossed for his second of the afternoon after he dived over superbly after a flowing move down the left flank.

The tiring Hornets found the going tough in the final 20 minutes as Handforth released Jack Lee under the posts with an exquisite short pass.

Handforth was on hand for the final try as his looping pass out wide freed Richie Barnett for the initial break before a flowing move culminated in Lewis Graham diving over in the corner.

Keighley Cougars: Craven, Barnett, Lawton, Williams, White, Jones, Handforth, Shickell, Haigh, Hesketh, Lynam, Rawlins, Lindsay. Interchange: Sheriffe, Cherryholme, Graham, Lee.

Wath Brow Hornets: Devine, Davidson, Caddy, King, Pink, Dixon, Watson, Dixon, Doran, Huby, Ramsden, Huby, Tomlinson. Interchange: Agnew, Martin, McCarron, Martin.

Referee: D Sharpe. Attendance: 488