KEIGHLEY Cougars looked to have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at home to Workington Town, only to claim a dramatic 16-16 draw.
After a dire League 1 campaign last year, Keighley have made a decent start to the expanded Betfred Championship, with two wins, a draw and two defeats so far.
Add in the fact that they are one of only three second-tier sides remaining in the Betfred Challenge Cup, and they will be relatively content with their early-season progress.
Keighley went into yesterday’s game off the back of a thumping home win over Whitehaven last time out.
But their Cumbrian visitors on this occasion were made of sterner stuff and Alex Donaghy put them in front with a converted try in the opening 10 minutes.
Cougars hit back just before the half-hour mark through Lachlan Lanskey, Matty Beharrell adding the extras despite playing through the pain of damaging his hand/wrist in the early part of the game.
Zarrin Galea had a try ruled out for offside when he thought he had put Workington ahead moments before the interval.
Instead, Keighley hit the front when veteran George Flanagan crossed the whitewash right at the start of the second half.
Beharrell’s conversion put Cougars 12-6 in front, and he was soon back at the kicking tee to knock over a penalty.
It was looking good for Keighley until they conceded two tries in three minutes, first to Jack Dickinson and then to Ewan Lawther.
With Jake Carter converting the former’s score, Workington suddenly had a 16-14 lead with 11 minutes to go.
Taurae Rawhiti almost sealed victory for Town late on, but he just failed to ground the ball over the line and Keighley seemed inspired by that lucky escape.
Izaac Farrell did brilliantly to break up the pitch and he won his side a kickable penalty.
Beharrell held his nerve with three minutes left to send the ball through the posts.
A late drop goal attempt from Keighley to try and seal a dramatic victory just failed to pay off, striking the bar, which ensured a gripping game of rugby league ultimately ended 16-16.
The result meant Workington picked up their first point of the season, leaving Swinton Lions as the only side still stuck on zero.
Keighley had been sat eighth in the 20-team table ahead of kick-off, with this draw seeing them slide a spot down to ninth.
Cougars head coach Ian Hardman reflected: “It was probably a fair result overall.
“In the first half, I was a bit disappointed with our ball control, because I thought we created the momentum and opportunities that we’d planned to, but we weren’t clinical off the back of it.
“We were wasteful with possession in good areas, but I thought we fixed that up a little and we started the second half really well.
“That got us into a strong position in the game, but a few penalties and repeat sets against us took some of our energy away.
“You have to credit Workington in that period and they got themselves ahead.
“But I was proud of how we stuck in the game because it was slipping away from us.
“We scrapped and defended our line and that allowed us the opportunity to get that break from Faz, then the penalty off the back of it.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t nail that drop goal at the end, but overall, I’m probably happy to get the point.”
Cougars’ next game comes this Sunday, when they visit Super League side York in the fourth round of the Challenge Cup, with kick-off at midday.
They hope to have Leo Aliyu back fit for that game, but Hardman confirmed the respective shoulder and knee injuries for both Jack Teanby and Aaron Brown are longer-term.
Keighley Cougars draw gripping game with Workington Town | Bradford Telegraph and Argus
