Keighley Cougars 54 Coventry Bears 28

COUGARS progressed into the Challenge Cup Fourth Round – despite being given an early scare by League One rivals Coventry Bears.

After falling 18 points behind, the Cougars’ scored ten unanswered tries, including seven in a second-half onslaught, to secure progression.

Coventry raced into a three-try lead in the game’s opening quarter with Bears’ Jono Milizewski leading the visitors around the pitch and, from his break, Tommy Holland scored the first try off the afternoon.

Milizewski continued to cause problems and this led to two further tries from Ben Warrilow and Charlie O’Mara.

The Cougars then sprung into life, with Ritchie Hawkyard starting the comeback after scoring from his own clever play from behind the attacking line.

Hamish Barnes turned the game on its head with a hat-trick either side of the half-time interval.

The Jamaican international squeezed over from both Hawkyard’s and Peltier’s passes in the closing stages of the first half before reacting quickest to a Hawkyard grubber eight minutes into the second.

Barnes’ third was the first of seven tries in 22 second half minutes as Coventry fell apart at the hands of a relentless Cougars, reeling from Paul March’s half-time team talk.

John Oakes broke from his own sidestep before racing 30 yards and rounding full-back Joel James, quickly followed by Aaron Ollett who turned through the tackle to somehow manage to get the ball down over the whitewash.

It would be four minutes before March’s men scored again when Hayden Freeman knocked on, on his own line, and from the free play Andy Gabriel raced the length off the field to cross for his first off the season.

Fellow winger Paul White then had his first try of 2016, shooting out from dummy half and across the face off the defensive line before changing direction and going over next to the uprights.

Next, Charlie Martin scored two in as many minutes, first from Adam Brook’s clever reverse pass and then from Barnes’ break down the left wing.

The Bears did manage two consolation tries with Jay Lobwein and Milizewski both getting over.