Dewsbury Rams 12, Keighley Cougars 6: David Foster came within feet of giving the Cougars a deserved draw at the end of a brave afternoon at the Rams Stadium.

A lack of execution meant Keighley went down fighting 12-6 in horrendous conditions in the Arriva Trains Cup.

But playing against opposition from a division above it was a wholehearted performance from a committed side that made their coach proud.

"I'm not disappointed," said Gary Moorby after the game, played out on a cold and erratically windy day.

"I'm a professional and I don't like to lose but I am proud of those players. They worked very hard and came close to earning a draw against a good side.

"It is a measure of how far we have come and there is still so much more that these players are capable of. It was a big, big performance."

With five changes to the side that had won their two opening home clashes, the Cougars dominated early proceedings despite playing into an increasingly hostile wind.

But lacking the final pass to gain ultimate penetration, the visitors were unable to turn possession into points.

The Rams took advantage of this with Jamie Benn kicking an easy close-range wind-assisted penalty for offside before Billy Kershaw forced his way home for the game's first try after 17 minutes.

Although the Cougars battled hard, the enormity of the home props caused them problems throughout and there was little that could be done after 25 minutes when Frank Watene forced his way over the whitewash at acting dummy half from a yard.

With the wind behind them, Keighley again fought valiantly after the break with Oliver Wilkes, Chris Hannah and Lee Kelly in particular showing intestinal fortitude the likes of which was sadly lacking for much of last season.

Skipper James Rushforth and Chris Wainwright combined to hold up Jim Elston in the corner before Jason Ramshaw showed his class and helped the Cougars to their first points of the afternoon. He followed up a 40-20 with the killer pass to send in Rushforth for a try that Ashton had no trouble converting.

On the hour mark the Cougars had their third fight in successive weeks with the all-for-one, one-for-all attitude this time coming to the aid of Lee Kelly. Five minutes later it happened again with the Rams' Chris Chapman sin-binned when a red card really should have been his punishment for the obvious punches on Kelly.

With six minutes left the Cougars had their chance when Ashton combined with Matthew Steel to set Foster off down the line, but the centre failed to take advantage of a failed tackle five metres from home.

Clearly thinking he had been held he set-up for a play-the-ball when a dive for the line would have been both legal and possible. And when Ashton failed to find hands on a three-man overlap one tackle later, it was too late for the Cougars.

With Sheffield in the Challenge Cup next week, the signs are positive. "Roll on next week," added Moorby.