Keighley Cougars 62

Strela Kazan 14

Full back Matt Bramald scored four tries as the Cougars eased into the fourth round of the Powergen Challenge Cup with a 62-14 victory over Russian side Strela Kazan at Cougar Park yesterday.

Playing in place of skipper James Rushforth, who was relegated to the bench, Bramald took his tally to seven tries in his last two outings at Cougar Park, much to the delight of Gary Moorby.

"He's an extremely good pro," said the Cougars coach. "When we brought him here we thought we'd get 15 to 20 tries a season out of him and he's well on the way to doing that. He's a good finisher."

Opening-quarter tries to Bramald, Matti Firth (two) and Matt Foster saw the Cougars open up a 28-0 lead.

However, Strela had shown in the opening exchanges they were comfortable with the ball in hand and they deservedly hit back with tries to wing Maxim Keller and hooker Alexander Napalkov.

Outstanding second-rower Lewis Taylor added the first of two fine solo efforts to extend the Cougars' half-time lead to 34-10.

Bramald's second-half hat-trick and further tries to John Wainhouse and Taylor ensured the comfortable victory but none received as big a cheer from the home fans as Keller's second for the Russians.

"It was a bit of a no-win situation for us," said Moorby. "After last year's disappointment and, not having had the best record against foreign teams in recent years, we've put that all to bed.

"I said at half-time that we needed to stay focused. They'd had their ten minutes of glory by scoring a couple of tries. All right, they scored one more but overall we went pretty well in a no-win situation." Strela played their part in an entertaining contest and, while Moorby was happy to praise their efforts, he admitted his attention had already switched to tonight's draw in Huddersfield.

"They were a spirited side who kept going and kept working. They played with enthusiasm. I hope they have a safe journey home and we see them in the Challenge Cup again next year.

"We were expected to win and we won comfortably. We will take the win and look forward to drawing Leeds at Headingley tonight.

"In my playing days, when I was playing at a higher level for Leeds, you wanted to go as far as you could, but at our level it is about trying to cash in. Only a few National League sides get to do that, so that's what we are hoping for."