Coach Gary Moorby believes the Cougars can end a disappointing National League Two season on a high note next week against Workington after they showed dramatic signs of improvement in a battling defeat to play-off contenders Hunslet Hawks at Cougar Park.

A whistle-happy performance by referee Gary Hewer - who blew for no fewer than 28 penalties - meant the stop-start match was never much of a spectacle, but the Cougars at least showed some second-half grit after being shut out in an error-strewn first 40 minutes.

"It was a massive improvement," said Moorby.

"We wrote down the word 'desire' on the board in the changing room and we talked about what it all means. There wasn't much of it in evidence in our last game but this time out we showed a lot.

"If we'd taken our chances in the first half we could have won the game."

Those chances came late in the first half, after the Hawks had eased to a

12-0 lead courtesy of tries from full back George Rayner and centre Anthony Gibbons and two goals to lively hooker Jermaine Wray.

Their lead would have been greater had loose forward Chris Redfern not somehow contrived to drop the ball over the line when grounding it with one hand without a Cougar in sight in the 20th minute.

Cougars full back Matt Bramald scooped up the loose ball but was ruled to have tapped the ball from the wrong mark and a great counter-attacking chance went begging.

The Cougars' first chance from open play came four minutes before the break when wing Sam Gardner spilled Paul Ashton's cross-kick over the line.

Matt Foster was then sin-binned for dissent but it didn't halt the Cougars' momentum and centre Daley Williams would have scored had he not tripped over his own feet after slicing through and stepping inside Rayner.

Instead, the Cougars went to the break having been blanked for their third consecutive 40-minute spell.

Seven minutes into the second half the barren run finally came to an end, wing Andrew Jackson seizing on Matti Firth's grubber to score in the corner. Bramald's conversion cut the deficit to six but the Hawks eased away again when Naylor crossed for his second. Matt Foster sliced through to keep the Cougars in touch but a Wray penalty and a neatly worked try to wing Andy Brent again took the game away from the Cougars, before neat work from Gardner sent Phil Stephenson over between the posts.

Rayner chewed up some time with a drop goal before Gardner sent Bramald over in the corner for another consolation effort.