KINGSTONE PRESS LEAGUE ONE

KEIGHLEY COUGARS 32 BARROW RAIDERS 34

IN or out has been a recurring theme over the past few months, and putting politics aside, there is no doubt of Barrow Raiders’ commitment to book their presence in the top-four play-offs, writes CHRIS JACKSON.

The Raiders faithful may have made the trip to West Yorkshire with a sense of trepidation after falling foul of some agonising last-gasp defeats at Cougar Park in recent visits- well, it was payback time as the Raiders snatched the game with the last kick of the game.

Keighley made the early breakthrough after Chris Hankinson halted Paul White with a try-saving tackle but the home winger was not to be denied as he took advantage of good hands along the line involving Liam Darville and Jonny Campbell to squeeze in at the corner.

However, the Raiders responded superbly when a line break from a forward looking pass saw former Cougar Oliver Wilkes race clear and he exposed full-back Jonny Campbell to give Ryan Fieldhouse, an unchallenged run to the line.

The visitors stunned the home faithful by notching back-to-back scores when firstly Jamie Dallimore injected pace into a Raiders move before offloading into the path of Hankinson, who shrugged off the attentions of Campbell to successfully reach for the whitewash before fine flowing hands along the line involving Hankinson and Fieldhouse gave Eze Harper, a glimpse of the line, and the Leigh loanee made no mistake as he touched down in the corner.

However, the home side got themselves back on level terms when firstly James Feather was held up just shy of the line but Paul Handforth’s clever grubber kick was inch-perfect for the run of Campbell before Ross Peltier made something out of nothing to bulldoze his way to the line leaving several Raiders scrambling at his feet in the process.

Keighley’s joy proved short-lived as Barrow regained the lead in their next attack thanks to a moment of magic from Dallimore, who looked to be heading into a cul-de-sac but his dancing feet saw him work a yard of space from which he successfully darted for the line.

There was a moment of controversy just shy of the interval when Cameron Pitman was sent to the bin for dissent after he expressed his frustration following a forward pass and Keighley made it count when Handforth’s superb kick was collected smartly by White, who reduced the half-time arrears to two points.

Following the interval, Barrow defended manfully with 12 men before Pitman went from villain to hero, as soon as he rejoined the fray, when he latched onto good work from Fieldhouse and Hankinson to touchdown in the corner. Minutes later, Nathan Mossop was held up just shy of the home line before Dallimore’s kick on the last went dead to release the pressure on the hosts.

The moment proved crucial as Keighley soon levelled matters when Handforth’s bomb on the last was not dealt with by Fieldhouse, in the aerial duel, and Brendon Rawlins was the quickest to pounce on the loose ball.

With the game in the balance, Hankinson’s fine run and offload saw Liam Harrison, make a superb line break before going over with a minimum of fuss but the Raiders lead was cut down to size as the visitors failed to deal with a towering kick and Lawton’s pass saw Andy Gabriel sprint to the corner before Lawton planted a superb penalty goal through the sticks to level matters with five minutes to go.

In a see-saw finale, Hankinson’s drop goal attempt was charged down before Dallimore ran the ball from deep, just shy of the hooter, before the referee awarded a penalty for an off-the-ball challenge giving Hankinson, a chance to win the game, with a long-distance kick and the stand-off kept his nerve to plant a superb kick from the touchline to win the game in the most dramatic of circumstances.

MATCH STATS

Barrow Raiders Starting XIII: Ryan Fieldhouse, Eze Harper, Cameron Pitman, Andy Litherland, Chris Fleming, Chris Hankinson, Jamie Dallimore, Joe Bullock, Karl Ashall, Oliver Wilkes, Liam Harrison, Danny Morrow, Martin Aspinwall.

Substitutes (all used): Nathan Mossop, Dan Toal, Anthony Bate, Brad Brennan.

Keighley Cougars Starting XIII: Jonny Campbell, Andy Gabriel, Charlie Martin, Danny Lawton, Paul White, Liam Darville, Paul Handforth, Scott Law, James Feather, Brandon Rawlins, Josh Lynam, John Oakes, Aaron Ollett.

Substitutes: (all used): Neil Cherryholme, Matthew Bailey, Ross Peltier, Will Milner.

Referee: Warren Turley.

Attendance: 716.

penalty, count: Keighley Cougars 9 Barrow Raiders 7.

PLAYBACK

EIGHT MINUTES: Paul White try, 4-0.

12 MINUTES: Ryan Fieldhouse try, Chris Hankinson conversion, 4-6.

15 MINUTES: Hankinson try, and conversion, 4-12.

22 MINUTES: Eze Harper try, 4-16.

25 MINUTES: Jonny Campbell try, Danny Lawton conversion, 10-16.

31 MINUTES: Ross Peltier try, Lawton conversion, 16-16.

33 MINUTES: Jamie Dallimore try, Hankinson conversion, 16-22.

38 MINUTES: Cameron Pitman sin-binned 16-22.

40 MINUTES: White try, 20-22.

56 MINUTES: Pitman try, 20-26.

64 MINUTES: Brendon Rawlins try, Lawton conversion, 26-26.

69 MINUTES: Liam Harrison try, Hankinson conversion, 26-32.

71 MINUTES: Andy Gabriel try, 30-32.

75 MINUTES: Lawton penalty, 32-32.

80 MINUTES: Hankinson penalty, 32-34.