Keighley Cougars 18, Sheffield Eagles 28

Keighley Cougars were just edged out by Sheffield Eagles in their Kingstone Press Championship clash at Cougar Park yesterday.

Cougars kept in the game right until the end but their failure to add vital conversions meant they had to push for the win, with Misi Taula-papa’s length-of-the-field try breaking their hearts late on.

Keighley player-coach Paul March was pleased with his side’s performance after taking a bonus point against the Grand Final winners.

He said: “We’ve played well again and this is definitely something we can take forward.

“We pushed them there and we showed we could mix it for long periods of the game.

“But our start really cost us dear. We’ve seen them play in a couple of games where they’ve had poor starts, so to go 12 down early on has ultimately cost us.

“For long periods of that game we thought we created a lot of opportunities and we can learn from that.

“Some people will have gone home thinking we should have won the game and some won’t, but we’ll take the performance as a positive and we’ll continue to take those positives into our game next week.”

Eagles stormed into a 12-point lead early on through former Bull Dominic Brambani and Tom Armstrong.

The home side then started on the comeback trail. Firstly, Daley Williams went in, then March used all his experience to craftily touch down from dummy half.

And, despite Scott Leatherbarrow’s failure to tag on the extras, the comeback was complete when Scott Law intercepted and charged in from 40 metres out.

However, Sheffield cruelly re-took the lead on the half-time hooter through Scott Turner, and then extended their advantage eight minutes after the break with Armstrong getting his second.

Ollie Pursglove then crossed to set up a photo finish and Cougars pushed the game right to the end, but Taulapapa’s intercept score saw him race the length of the field and score to secure the win.

Keighley: White; Duffy, Williams, Chandler, Lawton; Jones, Leatherbarrow; Shickell, Feather, Hesketh, Pursglove, Rawlins, March. Subs: Law, Sheriffe, Lynham, Parkinson.

Sheffield: Laulu-Togagae; Turner, Yere, Armstrong, Taulapapa; Walker, Brambani; Battye, Henderson, Stringer, Garside, Szostak, Knowles. Subs: Green, Davey, Roche, Esposito.

Referee: Gareth Hewer.

Attendance: 623