IF it is the case that familiarity breeds contempt, then the regular match-ups between Barrow Raiders and Keighley Cougars could best be described as the exception which proves the rule.

Last Saturday's Challenge Cup fourth-round tie at Craven Park was already the second time the two sides have met this year and is one of four scheduled encounters, with the possibility of a fifth should both sides make the Super Eights.

But whether it is a pre-season friendly, cup tie or league match, the repeated encounters between the clubs have led to not only something of a rivalry developing, but also a huge amount of mutual respect forming between the players, staff and both Raiders and Cougars fans.

So far in 2017 though, it is Barrow who have held the upper hand, winning comfortably in February's pre-season encounter, and now producing and gritty and determined performance to see off the Yorkshiremen 20-0 in the Challenge Cup.

Both sides went into this tie expecting a hard-fought encounter and it proved just that in the persistent rain, wind and the mud, underlined by the fact that neither side had managed to breach the other's defensive line for the majority of the first 40 minutes.

Those hoping the rarely-seen 1-0 scoreline might decide this match were left disappointed though when Lewis Charnock broke the deadlock with a try seconds before the hooter sounded to indicate the interval, and a second from the scrum-half three minutes after the restart set the Raider on course for the win.

It was hardly a night for Charnock and half-back partner Jamie Dallimore to show their skills though, with the duo instead having to utilise their kicking game to test the Keighley back three and turn the visitors around when putting the ball into the corner.

In many ways, conditions meant Barrow would need a similar approach to the one which saw them overcome York City Knights 28-0 in the opening Kingstone Press League One game of the season two weeks prior.

And the tone was set when the first four carries of this match were all taken up by props Joe Bullock and Ollie Wilkes, with Andrew Dawson and, in particular, Tom Walker providing sterling relief when coming off the interchange bench.

Unsurprisingly, it was very much a battle of the forwards as both the Raiders and Cougars' front six aimed to wrest the possession and territorial advantage, although both proved evenly-matched.

Had Keighley been more clinical, they could well have taken the lead though. Scrum-half Matty Beharrell asked plenty of questions of Barrow with his kicking on the sixth tackle, but when one did get through it was knocked on over the line by full-back Harry Aaronson, in for injured star man Ritchie Hawkyard.

Aaronson, who was playing his second game in as many days after featuring for Leeds University in their varsity match the night before, proved a more than adept stand-in for Hawkyard though, while Adam Ryder's runs from centre caused problems too and it only a diving tackle from Jarrad Stack which prevented him from racing away to score on the quarter-hour mark.

The Raiders defence held firm though and the pack's efforts were rewarded just before the break when Charnock spied a gap and scampered over to score near the posts, with Dallimore kicking the conversion.

Good work from Stack then saw the hosts win back the ball from the kick to restart the second half and within three minutes, Barrow had doubled their lead when Charnock muscled his way over the line and Dallimore – kicking due to Charnock having a slight muscle strain – again added the extras.

Two unconverted tries in the space of four minutes then put the seal on the win, with the burgeoning Declan Hulme and Shane Toal partnership again seeing the centre set up the winger for a score in the corner on the hour, with ex-Workington Town man Hulme exploiting the space in front of him to get one soon after.

So the first competitive meeting of the year between these two went to Barrow, with the sides set to do it all again on the same ground in just under two weeks' time in the quarter-finals of the League One Cup.

But before then, the Raiders have tomorrow's draw for the fifth round of the Challenge Cup to look forward to. It is the first time for six years they have reached this stage and will be hoping for a home draw with one of the Super League sides who now enter the competition.

Barrow Raiders: Ryan Fieldhouse 7; Shane Toal 7, Declan Hulme 7, Andy Litherland 7, Luke Cresswell 7; Lewis Charnock 8, Jamie Dallimore 7; Joe Bullock 7, Nathan Mossop 7, Ollie Wilkes 7, Jarrad Stack 8, Bradd Crellin 7, Martin Aspinwall 7. Interchange: Dan Abram 7, Andrew Dawson 7, Tom Walker 8, James Duerden 7.

Keighley Cougars: Harry Aaronson; Vinny Finigan, Danny Lawton, Adam Ryder, Andy Gabriel; Will Milner, Matty Beharrell; Matthew Bailey, James Feather, Fran Welsh, Josh Lynam, Josh Tonks, Mike Emmett. Interchange: Brendon Rawlins, Adam Brook, Nathan Kitson, Ben Sagar.

Referee: Gareth Hewer.

Attendance: 721.

Playback: 40 – Charnock try, Dallimore con (6-0); 44 – Charnock try, Dallimore con (12-0); 60 – Toal try (16-0); 64 – Hulme try (20-0).

Barrow Raiders star man: Tom Walker: The prop is starting to come into his own after a belated start to his Barrow career and made a huge impact in attack and defence in his role coming off the interchange bench.