Swinton Lions 14, Keighley Cougars 15

THE Lions lost out to the Cougars in a tense finish at Gigg Lane on Sunday.

The first half was full of very open football but the second half turned into a war of attrition.

The Lions drew first blood when Keighley full-back Jason Lawrence lost the ball in a tackle in his own quarter of the field.

A long pass from Sean Casey then sent Paul Barrow through a yawning gap for a try near the posts that Steve Gartland converted.

Keighley hit back with a ninth minute Max Tomlinson try in the corner which came from a pass off Martin Wood who appeared to have been grounded. Wood himself was wide with the goal kick.

Swinton then had a let-off when Jason Ramshaw had a try disallowed for a forward pass, at the other end Mark Welsby lost the ball over the line after Watson had put him through.

The Lions continued to press and Lawrence did a good job of clearing Gartland's testing low kick. The Cougars hit the lead for the first time when Richard Henare failed to clear Chris Robinson's kick to the corner allowing Jason Lee to touch down. Wood was again wide with his conversion attempt.

If anything the Lions were a little too eager when in possession of the ball and this showed when the referee gave a string of forward pass decisions against them.

This allowed the Keighley forwards to get on top with Wood, Ramshaw and Robinson in particular causing problems.

Seven minutes from the break Henare fooled the Cougars defence to send Casey on a 25-metre gallop to the posts, Gartland's successful kick made the score 12-8 in the Lions' favour.

However, they fell for a sucker punch just as the half-time hooter was blowing.

Wes Rogers lost the ball and a lapse of concentration allowed Lee to race 70 metres for a try after the hooter had sounded.

Wood's conversion gave the Cougars a 14-12 lead at the break.

Gartland levelled the scores three minutes into the second half when Keighley were penalised for stealing the ball off Howard Hill in a tackle.

Swinton were forced to do a lot of defending, a job which they did very well. A Ramshaw drop goal in the 63rd minute proved the difference between the two sides.

Why the Lions didn't attempt a similar effort when they had a perfect opportunity in the last five minutes to rescue at least a point, will remain a mystery.

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