RYAN Fieldhouse was a two-try hero as Barrow Raiders pulled off a late, sensational victory against Keighley Cougars in their final pre-season game at Craven Park yesterday.

Barrow showed their desire to earn the thrilling win after an opening half which saw them mostly on the back foot as the Yorkshiremen dominated.

But the Raiders showed true grit and will go into the iPro Sport Cup first round clash against visiting Rochdale Hornets on February 21 in buoyant mood.

Cougars thought they had wrapped up the game when Paul White won a long chase to the ball and although he appeared to have put a foot into touch after a short deliberation, the try was awarded.

Had Barrow lost in such controversial fashion it would have been harsh on a team which gave their all in the final 40.

That try was sandwiched in between Fieldhouse’s brace, the first for the full-back arriving in the 66th minute when he showed his pace to beat the Cougars defence.

His second try, three minutes from the final hooter, saw the former Halifax and Dewbury man take possession on halfway to burst clear and touch down for the winner, with Chris Hankinson slotting over the conversion for a 100 per cent success rate.

Coach Paul Crarey made the tough decision of resting his skipper Oliver Wilkes, who was suffering with a back problem, and stand-off Liam Campbell, who has an arm injury. Both players, he said, were keen to start but with the Rochdale test looming large, he erred on caution in order to have his strongest side available for the tie.

However able half-back Brad Marwood was out with a shoulder injury and with scrum half Josh Ward still recovering from a leg problem the Raiders, without their regular half backs, lacked any real creative sparkle in the opening 20 minutes as Cougars dominated the exchanges.

It came as no surprise the visitors led 10-0 during that period with Barrow unable to make any genuine impact in a spell which saw the home side concede five quick penalties as the pressure mounted on their their defence.

Keighley, led by impressive full-back Richie Hawkyard and hooker James Feather, went ahead in the 11th minute when Hamish Barnes was on the end of an sharp across-the-field move to crash over in the corner with Adam Brook adding the extras.

There was further woe for the Raiders when Hawkyard was the first to a Brook stab forward to score and suddenly the Raiders were staring into the abyss.

But they fought their way back before the interval when Hankinson took Nathan Mossop’s pass on the short side and forced his way over in the corner, adding a difficult touchline conversion to give his side a chance.

However, the match appeared to sway back towards the Cougars who thought they had stretched their lead in the 46th minute when Neal Cherryholme went over, but the try was ruled out by the linesman for offside.

The second half was proving to be a bit of an arm wrestle as both sides were finding it tough on a tacky surface and in the tricky windy conditions.

Fieldhouse showed some early glimpses as he looked to find a gap but was smothered by the Cougars defence.

And Barrow thought they were back on level terms in the 62nd minute when a move down the right saw Shane Toal power over only for the referee to pull play back for offside.

But Raiders’ endeavours were rewarded when Fieldhouse showed his electric pace to scorch through the Keighley defence to score with Hankinson on target to give his side the lead for the first time in the game.

Fieldhouse was to have the final say after he latched onto the ball on halfway to slice through the Cougars defence and score near the sticks to earn his side the gutsy victory.

RAIDERS: Ryan Fieldhouse 8, Shane Toal 6, Cameron Pitman 6, Max Wiper 6, Chris Fleming 6, Chris Hankinson 7, Dan Abram 7, Joe Bullock 7, Nathan Mossop 6, Liam Harrison 7, Matty Holmes 6, Bradd Crellin 7, Martin Aspinwall 6. Subs: Lee Haney 6, Dan Toal 6, Andrew Dawson 6, Joe Hambley 6, James Duerden 6, Matty While 6. 

COUGARS: Richie Hawkyard, Vinny Finigan, Danny Lawton, Hamish Barnes, Paul White, Liam Darville, Adam Brook, Scott Law, James Feather, Brendon Rawlins, Sonny Esslemont, Joshua Lynam, Aaron Ollett. Subs: Jesse Sheriffe, Tyler Dickinson, Neal Cherryholme, Matt Bailey, Chris Cullimore, Aaron Nicholson. Penalty count: Barrow 9 Keighley 8. 

Referee: Tom Grant. 

Attendance: 612. 

STARMAN: Ryan Fieldhouse.

PLAYBACK

11 MINUTES: Hamish Barnes try, Adam Brook conversion, 0-6.

18 MINUTES: Richie Hawkyard try, 0-10.

37 MINUTES: Chris Hankinson try, Hankinson conversion, 6-10. 

66 MINUTES: Ryan Fieldhouse try, Hankinson conversion, 12-10.

75 MINUTES: Paul White try, 12-14. 

77 MINUTES: Fieldhouse try, Hankinson conversion, 18-14.