Couars 16, Halifax 37 - TIME is running out for the Cougars as they stare relegation in the face.

Months after the euphoria of gaining promotion to National League One, they face the real prospect of taking the slide back down. They have just one league win under their belts, victory over Featherstone, and have been unable to turn promising performances into good results.

They have become a team that is frustrating to watch, at times playing breathtaking rugby and then collapsing into periods of error-strewn play. Their levels of concentration and physical intensity have been unable to sustain the team through an entire game.

For some the realisation is just hitting home that squad is just not good enough for First Division football. It now looks as if their only chance of a win will come on the away trip to Rochdale on August 15 -- and that will not be enough.

Cougars lack the experienced players found in teams like Halifax who were orchestrated by Jamie Bloem. He guided his team around the field, opened and closed the scoring and bagged a personal total of 20 points.

Both he and Anthony Farrell may be past their 'sell by' dates, but in the end their experience was probably the difference between the two teams.

Cougars always seem to start badly, the lack of concentration and intensity and crucially, they let in two very soft tries to put themselves under too much pressure.

Bloem pounced on mark Moxon's grubber kick then Moxon dummied his way through a statuesque defensive line, though they may both have been closely scrutinised if video referees were available at National League matches. It was debatable whether Bloem touched down correctly and there was more than a hint of a double movement as Moxon scrambled over the line, but referee Colin Morris had no hesitation with either score.

Bloem added a conversion and a penalty before Pat Wiesner added a drop goal to secure a 13-0 lead after 20 minutes. It was to prove too big a gap, not that they didn't try to bridge that gap commendably.

They came back and scored two cracking tries -- the second was the best so far this season and will certainly be in the line-up for the try of the season.

Matty Firth had a poor start to the game when both his kicking and handling let him down, but he had a big hand in both tries. The first came from his superb delayed pass to Matt Foster.

He also started and finished the second when, on the fifth tackle, the Halifax defence prevented him getting a kick away. He was forced to run the ball from deep in his own territory and got the ball out to Lee Patterson who flicked the ball out to Matt Foster who raced up field before releasing Robinson. Robinson's inside pass found Craig McDowell who was held, but managed to click the ball behind his back to Robinson.

As the string of slick 'basketball' passes continued Robinson found Foster again and he sent Firth scurrying over.

Words just don't do the try justice, but it really is worth getting hold of a copy of the match video.

Mitchell added the second conversion to make it 13-10 at the break, but if anything the half time hooter killed Keighley's momentum.

Halifax started brightest after the break with Chris Birchall going over in the 46th minute. Bloem's conversion made it 19-10 and the referee killed Keighley's chance of getting back on terms. He awarded Keighley a penalty for offside, but David Foster had already broken through the illegal tackle and was in the clear with the line at his mercy.

All the Cougars got was a Mitchell penalty as the halifax defence held firm under pressure.

A rare Simeon Hoyle error allowed 'Fax to make sure of victory in the 66th minute. He spilled the ball trying to offload on his own 30m line and from the scrum Alan Hadcroft was allowed to race round the defence and at 25-12 it was check mate.

Again the Cougars worked hard, Robinson went over in the corner off Chris Wainwright, but with only 10 minutes left Cougars needed a miracle, instead they got a thrashing. Halifax added 12 points in the last four minutes to distort the scoreline with Simon Grix and Bloem ghosting through a beaten Cougars defence.

A long tough season was always predicted and this was probably the low point, not because it was the worst performance - far from it - but because it hopes of staying up sunk to an all-time low.

That realisation was only emphasised when the Cougar Park PA system blasted out the highly inappropriate 'The Only Way is Up' after the final whistle. The reality is that probably the only way is down.