RAIDERS head coach Paul Crarey was quick to pay tribute to Leigh loanee Chris Hankinson, who kept his nerve with a last-gasp kick, to give his side a vital 34-32 victory over Keighley Cougars, writes CHRIS JACKSON.

The visitors kept their slim hopes of gatecrashing the League One top four alive by leapfrogging Keighley to jump into fifth, with one game to go at home to Oxford next weekend.

The game looked to be heading for a draw going into the final seconds before Hankinson’s drop-goal was charged down and Jamie Dallimore was forced to collect possession deep in his own half.

Rather than playing it safe, the Raiders scrum-half turned defence into attack by chipping forward before being taken out by a late challenge, leaving referee Warren Turley no other option but to award a penalty by the touchline.

Despite being 45 metres out, Hankinson silenced the home faithful by arrowing his kick between the sticks to give Raiders victory – in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Speaking in the aftermath of the nerve-jangling victory at Cougar Park, Crarey was quick to praise Dallimore, for going for the powerplay, and Hankinson, for keeping his nerve with the final kick.

“I thought he (Dallimore) was going to run the clock down but he chipped to the corner and credit to him, as he got cleaned out, which earned us the penalty.

“Up stepped, ‘Cool Hand Luke’. He was brilliant for us as a pivot all afternoon both offensively and defensively and to take a penalty, 45 metres out from the touchline, was fantastic for us.

“Chris has got all the skills and he’s got a great attitude. The Barrow crowd love him.”

The Cougar Park clash ebbed and flowed all afternoon as the Raiders were pegged back on several occasions with Danny Lawton’s penalty levelling matters with five minutes to go.

Despite coming out on top in the final play, Crarey conceded a draw may have been a fair result, in what was a fantastic advert for League One rugby.

“A draw may have been a fair result but with our first-half performance. We maybe edged it,” Crarey added.

“It was a great game of rugby. It was always going to be a tough game for us coming after the Keighley result at Toulouse and we have some sore bodies out there but we have a versatile squad and we coped with it well.

“They got behind us with a few kicks and scored a few tries and it was game on. I knew if we weathered the storm at the start of the second half, when they were going to throw the kitchen sink at us, then we would go on and win the game.

“We held our nerve. It was a really tough game. It’s hard to win at Keighley, as they are a big unit but it shows we can match anyone on our day and it gives us a little belief going into the play offs.

“It was a great advert for rugby and a draw may have been a fair result but we’ve been on the wrong end of those so to have the composure near the end was incredible for us.”