THERE were mitigating circumstances for this defeat - there usually are - but it still leaves the Cougars without a point going into two tough away games in the next fortnight.

There's been a rampant flu bug in the camp all week; three players including both first choice props were out with hamstring injuries; and add to that the loss in the first half of Duncan Smith and Andy Senior, and it seemed always likely that the Cougars would struggle.

They might have done better had they been given a chance by referee Steve Nicholson. Wakefield were consistently offside and their interference at the play the ball was blatant - and went unpunished.

Mr Nicholson's leniency was exploited to the full by Trinity - and who can blame them? They stopped the Cougars building any kind of momentum and it paid off in the end.

Another perspective though might be that Trinity defended with more resolve, hit the ball forward more effectively and in Garen Casey had the one true matchwinner on the field. The Cougars looked devoid of ideas at times, their only weapon - the bomb - used too often and too unimaginatively.

Keighley got a bright enough start. Matt Foster's pass left Marlon Billy with a lot to do in a little space. But somehow he squeezed in at the corner for the opening score.

Instead of taking the game by the scruff of the neck the Cougars gradually saw Trinity gain the ascendency. The visitors should have levelled in the 20th minute, Simon Hicks dropping the ball with the line at his mercy. But they didn't have long to wait, Casey's diagonal run and drop off pass creating the gap for Chris Judge to plunge over.

Casey missed the kick and two other easy ones to keep the score tied. It looked like staying that way until the second minute of injury time when up popped Casey again. He bounced off two sets of defenders and Trinity had the lead which Craig Rika extended by landing the goal.

Within two minutes of the restart Casey was on the mark again after catching Ryan Horsley's long pass.

After that it was all Cougars whose cause should have been helped by nine handling errors by Trinity. But despite the lion' share of possession they could not get the momentum needed to build any really threatening attacks.

They only offered promising half-breaks. Jason Lee almost got clear a couple of times; Phil Stephenson sent Simon Wray racing away - only to be halted by his twin brother Jon in the Trinity ranks. Foster collected a rebound from a Ramshaw kick through, beat the full-back but his kick ahead past the cover defence sliced off the side of his boot - and the chance was gone.

They did manage one further try though - and that made for an exciting finish. Paul Owen's smart angled jinking run to the posts in the the 57th minute left Chris Robinson with the easiest of conversions. With 23 minutes still on the clock it looked like Cougars were well in with a shout. But it was not to be. Lethargy, lack of imagination and most of all the leniency of the referee at the play the ball, all let them down.

Ramshaw came closest on a couple of occasions to dragging his side back into the back. Again he was leading by superb example. Steve Campbell also showed up well; he has a real hunger about his game and with a few more like him Cougars would surely have got more. What a shame Campbell wasn't able to celebrate his 18th birthday with a victory.

New boy Jason Lee ran well; Darren Summerill tackled his socks off; and Paul Owen, struggling all week with a knee injury, never stopped trying.

Rob Roberts got the official man of the match - much to the chagrin of the crowd. On as a 10th minute substitute for Duncan Smith he certainly made his mark. He was sin-binned for fighting with Judge in the 32nd minute, and always looked likely to erupt at any moment. When he gets back to match fitness and into the swing again he will strengthen the Cougars' cause.

Cougars: Foster, Wray, K.Smith (Lee 45 mins), Irving, Billy, Owen (K.Smith 65), Robinson, Shackleton (Kain 52), Ramshaw, Senior (Campbell 37), Stephenson, D.Smith (Roberts 10), Summerill.

Trinity: Holland, Rika, Casey, Law, Wray, Mycoe (Horsley 24), March, S.Hicks (Stephenson 35, proctor 65), Fuller, Lord (S.Hicks 52), McDonald (P.Hicks 65), Judge, Whakarau (Lord 75).

Referee: S.Nicholson (Whitehaven).

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