LAST week's defeat by Villeneuve has dented more than a bit of Cougar pride -- it has left a big hole in the club's bank balance.

As fourth round losers they will pick up a cheque for £5,400, but a place in the fifth round would have guaranteed them a £9,000 payday from the prize fund, plus an estimated £20,000+ share of the gate money.

And it may not have ended there, Villeneuve have been drawn against Dewsbury, a team Keighley have shown themselves more than capable of beating.

A place in the quarter-finals would have earned at least £17,000 in prize money with another £20,000 in gate receipts -- in purely financial terms one slipshod game could have cost the club over £50,000 in lost revenue.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.