Featherstone 28, Keighley 24 - Keighley staged a gutsy second half fightback, but left themselves slightly too much to do in an entertaining Northern Ford Premiership elimination semi-final.

Trailing 22-8 at half-time and 28-12 with 13 minutes remaining, they gave Featherstone a fright by cutting the gap to four points with late tries by Jason Ramshaw and Rob Roberts, both converted by Paul Ashton.

The Cougars threatened again in the dying seconds before time ran out. However, they lost the match in the opening 40 minutes when their poor ball control was punished by Rovers, who built a commanding lead with tries by Jamie Rooney (2), Gavin Swinson and Chris Spurr.

Keighley coach Steve Deakin said: "Our completion rate in the opening 40 minutes was only 35 per cent and we had said pre-game that we needed it to be around 70 or 75 per cent if we were to be in with a shout.

"Our commitment and execution im-proved dramatically in the second half. It was an outstanding effort, but we had given ourselves a bit too deep a hole to get out of."

Keighley's only first half points came when Roberts forced his way over for his first touchdown in the 24th minute, and Ashton added the second of his four goals.

Cougars started the second half in great style with a try after only 40 seconds by Ashton, who took Adam Hayes's pass and outpaced the cover in a superb 45-yard dash to the corner.

Featherstone then appeared to have sealed victory when Richard Chapman went over from acting half in the 61st minute and Rooney kicked his fourth goal to put them 16 points ahead, but they were forced to hang on grimly in the closing stages after the Cougars clawed their way back.

Featherstone Rovers: Rhodes; Stokes, Swinson, Spurr (Dooler 51), Bramald; Bastow, Rooney; Lord (Morgan 31, Lord 69), Chapman (Jackson 77), Helliwell (Dickens 38), Booth, Lowe, Darley.

Keighley Cougars: Rushforth; Foster, Smith, Rice, Tomlinson; Ashton, Antonik; Stephenson (Morphet 50), Ramshaw, Shaw (Taylor 45, Stephenson 62), Wilkes (Shaw 76), Roberts, Hayes. Subs (not used): Horne, Richardson.

Referee: Peter Taberner (Wigan). Attendance: 1,710.