London Skolars 22 Keighley Cougars 31

COUGARS booked their place in the iPro Sport Cup final with a hard-fought victory over London Skolars on an emotion-filled occasion in the capital.

In their first visit to the New River Stadium since the death of Danny Jones at the same venue almost 12 months to the day, Keighley overcame their hosts in a thrilling end-to-end game.

The victory means the club can now look forward to a final showdown with the York City Knights as part of the Championship's Summer Bash in Blackpool later this month.

Head coach Paul March said: “We came down here just looking to get the win and book our place at Bloomfield Road but I thought the lads handled the day and what it was all about extremely well and I’m one proud coach.

“Liam Darville came into the side to partner up with Adam Brook as Paul Handforth was away with work commitments and showed some good touches but for me the forwards were absolutely immense.

“The lads prepared well and did not just them, but me and Jonesy proud too, and can hold their heads up high with it being a difficult time for everybody. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but in cup football you just need to make sure you get the win.”

To mark the first anniversary of the Cougars half-back's death, both sides observed a minute’s silence, with a wreath of flowers and plaque laid at the spot on the field where the Wales international tragically lost his life.

March’s side got off to the best start possible after six minutes when Hamish Barnes showed great footwork to squeeze over the line despite the interest of four London defenders.

The two teams were determined to put on a show fitting of Danny Jones and the Skolars got on the board when John Paxton dived in at the corner, when Barnes couldn’t cover in time to make the tackle.

Cougars extended their lead when fittingly, Scott Law, the best friend of Jones, powered his way over from close range on the back of consecutive penalties.

However, Aaron Small raced over from 30 metres to make sure there was just a two-point margin heading into the interval.

March’s men got the second 40 off to the best possible start when just 60 seconds after the restart, a flowing passing move left space in the Skolars defensive line from which Darren Hawkyard raced through to touch down next to the posts.

The home side wouldn’t go down without a fight and continued to push Keighley all the way in the glorious sunshine, with hooker Ben Pointer squeezing over from dummy half.

The reply was instant by the Cougars as Ritchie Hawkyard turned his way through three attempted tackles to touch down.

But London got back within two points once more when Mike Bishay’s cross-field kick was picked out of the air by Small as he outjumped Adam Brook to collect and score to set up a tense final ten minutes.

Brook made amends just two minutes later. His superb no-look kick to his right was taken by Ritchie Hawkyard as the full-back dived under the posts for his second to finally see off the resilient southern outfit.

Brook made sure of the result with 90 seconds left on the clock when, on the last tackle, the stand-off slotted a Danny Jones-style drop goal over from 10 metres to end any hope of a late comeback from the home side.

The game ended on a sour note as Ritchie Hawkyard and Erjon Dollapi had a bust-up on the halfway line with seconds remaining. Both were both sin-binned by referee Tom Grant, who was heavily criticised for his performance.

PLAYER RATINGS

COUGARS: R Hawkyard 10; Finigan 10; Martin 10; Barnes 10; White 10; Brook 10; Darville 10; Law 10; Feather 10; Rawlins 10; Oakes 10; Lynam 10; Lindsay 10. Subs: Cherryholme 10; Jode Sheriffe 10; Ollett 10; D Hawkyard 10.

SKOLARS: Anthony 6; Nash 7; Small 8; Price 6; Paxton 7; Coleman 7; Bishay 8; Gray 6; Druce 6; Everett 6; Williams 7; Lovell 7; Chester 6. Subs: Sykes 6; Pointer 7; Faturoti 6; Dollapi 7.