ONE TERRIBLE mistake by rookie referee Ashley Klein may have changed the course of the Cougar clash with Batley Bulldogs - and robbed them of a place in the quarter-finals of the Arriva Cup.

Gary Moorby's men were the better team for most of the game, with the Bulldogs scoring on rare visits to the Cougar half.

But the crucial turning point came just 15 minutes from the final hooter.

Cougars were trailing 22-16 when Adam Mitchell floated a high ball across to the right wing. Karl Smith timed his chase and jump to perfection, coming away with the ball while on the run.

He was on his way to a touchdown under the posts when Klein whistled and ruled that the pacey winger was offside.

From the terraces his decision looked very poor, and the video evidence confirmed he was wrong.

The decision had a devastating blow as the Cougar morale collapsed allowing Batley to run in three late tries - all converted - to sweep to a 40-16 victory.

In contrast it was the Keighley side which was on a high before the crucial blow.

After turning round 16-10 down Mitchell and Barry Eaton swapped penalties to make it 18-12.

Oliver Wilkes was having a storming game and was bundled into the corner flag by Simon Lewis, who popped up at the other end to finish off a move which extended Batley's lead to 22-12.

Wilkes was not to be denied as Cougars powered their way back up field. He bulldozed his way past five or six Batley defenders to touchdown to pull his side back to within a converted try of the home side.

Confidence was high and the Keighley side had Batley on the back foot, but the momentum changed in a moment with Klein's offside ruling.

The first half had seen Cougars securing long periods of territorial advantage, but they could not overcome a 7-0 penalty count against them.

Matt Foster opened the scoring for Cougars after 10 minutes. Phil Stephenson had laid the foundation of a brilliant move with a barnstorming drive and Jason Ramshaw chipped through a delicately weighted ball.

Foster used his speed to make the touchdown a split second before the ball crossed the deadball line.

Barry Eaton put the home side level with two penalties directly in front of the posts, on his side's first visits into Cougar territory. The first was for offside and the second a very dubious high tackle decision.

Cougar skipper James Rushforth put his side back into the lead when he got the final touch to another well judged kick through from Ramshaw. Mitchell added the conversion to give Keighley a 10-4 lead

David Foster was the victim of a clear punch as he lay on the ground following a tackle directly in front of a touch judge. No action was taken and it was Batley who were awarded a penalty after a Cougar player had ill-judged words with the official.

The penalty handed the home side possession and they took advantage with Andy Spink going over to level the scores.

The final try of the first half came after Andy Robinson fumbled a high ball allowing Mark Sibson to touch down. The conversion from Eaton gave Bulldogs their 16-10 lead at the break.

The game was always close until the Keighley spirit collapsed late in the game, and if they are to become a really good team they will have to develop the mental strength to overcome adversity.

In the last 10 minutes Batley made the game look one-sided as they swept in for three converted tries.

Mark Toohey went over from acting half-back for the first, and he followed up with a slick reverse pass to put Ryan Horseley over.

Former Cougar Paul Harrison had enjoyed opening up the Cougar defence in those closing minutes and he supplied the pass for full-back Craig Lingard to touch down, with Eaton's conversion the last kick of a frustrating game.