Cougars 24, Featherstone Rovers 26

BEN Blackmore's late try relegated Keighley to Championship One as Featherstone secured their place in the top two.

Cougars had led 24-14 in the second half after tries from Paul White and the retiring Andy Shickell.

But unconverted quick-fire scores by Shaun Pick and Jason Crookes set up a nervous finish for the home side – and it was one they could not handle as Blackmore then crossed to end Keighley's three-year stint in the second tier.

Cougars player-coach Paul March was devastated with the result and said: "I've got a group of players who are hurting in there.

"We had the game in the bag and it's the same old story. We've let the other team in it and they stole it at the death.

"It's probably not sunk in for most of us but we're on a massive downer. We've now got to just regroup as a club and come back fighting.

"We're relegated, at the end of the day, and if it hadn't have been for the restructure we would have actually improved on last year. But we knew the ball game when we set out.

"There were some tears shed between me and the players. It's the first time I've been involved in relegation in my career and I certainly don't want to experience anything like it ever again."

Cougars were the first to put points on the board, Danny Jones opting to kick the two from a penalty.

However, that goal then gave Featherstone their first chance to score after Shickell knocked on the kick-off. It was a chance that Rovers took as Ian Hardman went in untouched at the corner. Gareth Moore slotted over the conversion from the touchline to give the visitors a 6-2 lead.

The home side hit back on the back of a penalty. Half-backs Paul Handforth and Jones combined to send through James Craven. Jones converted to regain the lead for Keighley.

It was not long after, though, that Featherstone were back in. Will Sharp cut back inside through Danny Lawton before touching down. Moore once again added the extras.

Cougars then levelled it before the break. Elliot Cosgrove squeezed his way over the line on the left edge for the try to make it 12 apiece going into the sheds.

Moore added a penalty goal five minutes after the break before Keighley had their best spell of the match.

Jones chipped a kick which White latched on to just before the ball had fallen into touch, a try which the stand-off converted.

The Welsh international then sent Shickell charging through to the line and a play-off place looked to be in sight after Jones converted.

However, Andy Kain's precise grubber kick was pounced on by Pick and Crookes crossed to see the visitors trail by two.

And Cougars just could not hang on as Blackmore went in at the corner to send the home fans into silence.

Paul Handforth let frustration get the better of him late on as he was sin-binned before the final whistle, with everyone involved at Keighley walking away from Cougar Park utterly dejected.

March has now begun looking ahead to next season. He said: "We always had a plan on the back-burner for whether we'd be in the Championship or in Championship One. Now we've just got to rebuild.

"We'll be playing catch-up as other clubs will have already signed players because they've known their fate for a long time.

"We need to start moving quickly to put a competitive squad together so that we can get back to where we belong."

COUGARS: James Craven 7, Daley Williams 7, Danny Lawton 7, James Haley 7, Paul White 7, Danny Jones 8, Paul Handforth 6, Andy Shickell 8, James Feather 7, Sean Hesketh 7, Josh Lynam 7, Ash Lindsay 7, Jode Sheriffe 7. Interchange: Elliot Cosgrove 7, Paul March 7, Scott Law 7, Neil Cherryholme 7.

FEATHERSTONE: Will Sharp 7, Ben Blackmore 8, Greg Worthington 7, Ian Hardman 7, Jason Crookes 7, Andy Kain 7, Gareth Moore 7, Steve Crossley 8, Andy Ellis 7, Kyle Trout 7, Shaun Pick 8, Tim Spears 7, James Lockwood 7. Interchange: Jack Bussey 7, Keegan Hirst 7, Matt James 7, Luke Teasdale 7.

Attendance: 1,919. Referee: J Cobb.