CRAIG Lingard was left fuming as Cougars fell to a dismal defeat on the road at Doncaster.

The head coach didn’t hold back in his post-match interview as the 28-14 loss saw his side drop to eighth in League One as the regular season reached the halfway point.

Lingard blasted: “To say I’m massively disappointed would be an understatement and if you ever wanted a definition of dumb rugby then that was it.

“We work hard all week in training identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and then decide to go out and play whatever we want to play.

“I’m wasting my time doing that every week if they’re not going to take notice and do whatever it is they want to do.

“We were just sloppy throughout and we knew we needed a big start as Doncaster start big yet they had a better start and a better finish than us.

“The team's form is a massive concern and we’re now playing the teams that are around us and we will all be taking points off each other.

“It’s not a god-given right that because we’re the Keighley Cougars we make the top eight and we’ve got to achieve that as a group and not as individuals which is the case at the moment.”

The defences were very much on top throughout the first half-hour, with a Harry Aaronson effort ruled out for a foot in touch being the best opportunity.

Doncaster broke the deadlock as Jason Tali waltzed through a gap in the line to cross from ten metres out.

Cougars hit back immediately however as Brendon Rawlins offloaded out of the tackle and after great link-up work between Liam Darville and Will Milner, Nathan Conroy racing home to level the scores.

The hosts retook the lead following a break as Tali raced down the left wing before sending Richie Barnett through on his inside, with the former Keighley winger getting an offload away under pressure to Ryan Wright, who crossed beneath the posts.

Adam Ryder had the final say of the half as, on the hooter, he bulldozed his way through three Doncaster defenders to power over the line.

Keighley trailed 12-10 at the break but took the lead for the first and only time in the encounter five minutes after the restart as Ryder sealed his brace in the same fashion as his first, taking the ball ten metres out before overpowering three would-be tacklers to touch down.

Doncaster then opened up what proved to be an unassailable ten-point lead with two quick tries.

The first of these, scored by veteran Russ Spiers, was soft to concede from a Keighley point of view as he fended off two defenders to crash over.

Jordan Howden then raced underneath the uprights following a Charlie Martin break. The former Cougars player went 60 metres downfield before offloading at the final moment to send his half-back in for the try.

That was the final four-pointer of a disappointing afternoon for the visitors but Doncaster still had the opportunity to successfully convert two penalties.

Jack Miller coolly slotted over on both occasions following an offside and a shoulder charge.