Keighley Cougars 28, Widnes Vikings 34; by Keith Reeves.

The Cougars got their season off to a start with a tough friendly against old foes Widnes and as so often in recent years it was a tough and close-run game.

New coach Karl Harrison was impressed with his side and very positive about the season ahead, despite narrow defeat.

Harrison said: "There were six tries each - it was a very good game. I thought one man made the difference, Paul Mansson. Widnes' team is 90 per cent of what it was last season. I would say we were about 70 per cent what we had last year.

"We're a relatively new side and I thought it showed at times, although I thought we played well in spells.

"I thought we had the game won, but were nave at times. Instead of closing the game down, we tried to play champagne football, but overall it was a very, very positive exercise.

"The loss of Richard Smith after only five minutes obviously caused us some disruption but I thought the players who readjusted, particularly Kris Kirk and Stuart Calvert, did particularly well. Richard has ligament damage and hopefully he will be fit for the Hunslet game.

"There were a few people who impressed me, who possibly didn't figure in the starting 13 I had in my head, but I'll now re-assess once I've looked at the video.

"Overall, I was very impressed with the whole squad's effort and commitment."

The Cougars were most impressive in the first spell of a game played in three half-hour periods. During that time the pack dominated and set up field position for the Cougars to take an early 14-2 lead.

Calvert went in at the corner, and Karl Smith was put over by Matt Foster in the 18th minute. Two minutes later Foster raced onto a Martin Wood pass to score a typical try. Craig Robinson could only manage the second conversion.

Widnes had taken an early lead with a Simon Verbickas penalty but got themselves back into the game just before the first interval when Karl Fitzpatrick dummied his way over, Verbickas adding the conversion.

The second period saw the Cougars fail to cope with the disruption as well as Widnes, and gradually stand-off Paul Mansson gained control of this game. He had a hand in all five of the Vikings tries after the break.

Gareth Adams finished off a Mansson break, Steve Argent powered over from short range and Verbickas finished off probably the try of the game which started deep in Widnes territory.

All the Cougars could manage during that second period was a well-taken try by Craig Horne, who chased a seemingly lost cause to touch down just before the dead ball line. That made the score at the end of the second period 22-18 to Widnes.

The third and final half hour was fairly evenly matched. Mansson created two well taken tries down the Cougar right flank. Jim Cassidy and Alan Readicliffe both went over out wide, Damian Munro adding the final conversion.

For the Cougars, new boys Steve Pickles and Paul Harrison both crossed with Robinson adding the penultimate conversion.

If the Cougars can produce the form that they showed in the first half hour, this indeed could be a big season for them. Their pack totally dominated Vikings' big six and behind them Robinson and Paul Owen had the space to create the platforms for Cougars' potent attack to impress.

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