Wath Brow Hornets 4 Keighley Cougars 10

COUGARS secured their place in the quarter-finals of the iPro Sport Cup after grinding out a hard-fought victory against amateur outfit Wath Brow Hornets.

After a morning pitch inspection, the game went ahead in cold, muddy and treacherous conditions – described by Keighley's veteran half-back Paul Handforth as the worst he’s ever played in.

The weather and the pitch proved to be a big leveller, with work to clear standing water going ahead up until five minutes before kick-off.

Head coach Paul March gave debuts to seven of his off-season recruits, while props Scott Law and Neil Cherryholme made their 150th Cougars and 150th overall career appearances respectively.

Wath Brow proved tough opponents but a professional performance from the visitors edged them out.

The Cumbrian amateur outfit made the better start, forcing silly errors in the mud to gain field advantage and put pressure on the Keighley line in the opening ten minutes.

However, Cougars made the breakthrough in the 24th minute when, after relentless pressure on the Wath Brow line, captain James Feather broke through from dummy half to dive over next to the posts.

With the pitch deteriorating at an alarming rate, there were handling errors a plenty but Cougars scored their second try close to the hour mark.

Law marked his milestone, the day after his 31st birthday, by taking Adam Brook’s short pass and powering his way through two would-be tacklers to get over for the try.

The home side got back within a converted try of their semi-professional opponents seven minutes from time when, after a Luke Davison break, Paul White made a tackle in the air, with Peter Caddy picking the ball up and taking it to the line from the resulting free play.

The game ended on a sour note for Cougars, however, as Josh Lynam was carried from the field with a suspected leg injury.