Cougars 18, Batley 38

Paul March could not hide his disappointment after the Cougars were bundled out of the Northern Rail Cup following a powerful second-half display from Batley.

Keighley produced some delightful rugby in the first half and led 12-6 at the break courtesy of tries from winger Paul White (2) and centre James Haley.

But John Kear’s visitors upped the tempo after the restart and ultimately ran out emphatic victors.

The Cougars were also hit by a number of injury concerns during the match and player-coach March said: “I’m disappointed because we put a massive effort in during the first half.

“But it took its toll in the second half and injuries affected us too. James Haley came off at half-time and couldn’t return and Ben Sagar went off after 18 minutes.

“Joe Chandler also went off injured in the first half, so we had a lot of people missing in the second half and we turned a lot of ball over cheaply.”

Ben Black opened the scoring for the visitors early on after a period of early pressure but the Cougars fashioned an impressive response, with March exerting a telling influence on proceedings.

White scored twice in clinical fashion in the left corner after fine handling sequences and Haley also went over but Danny Jones failed to convert any of them.

Nevertheless, March’s men led 12-6 at the break but Batley came out fighting and scored four minutes after the restart when Ayden Faal touched down.

The Cougars responded in the 56th minute through Jode Sheriffe but Batley hit back with five more tries.

The hosts lost Jones to a yellow card for a professional foul and Batley made them pay. Ben Blackmore, George Flanagan, Jason Walton, Gareth Moore and Tom Hemingway all crossed to seal the hosts’ fate.

March said: “It was disappointing because the game was there for the taking. We were in total control in the first half and scored some very good tries and created a lot of opportunities.

“But we’re out of the competition and we need to start learning – and learning quickly.”