Keighley Cougars 46 Bears 18 - Betfred League 1, Round 14

Crown Oil Arena, Keighley, Sunday 15th August

Once again the Bears were slow off the starting blocks and found themselves 12-0 down after just five minutes.

The first try was scored after just 28 seconds as Charlie Graham crossed over, followed within four minutes by Dan Parker who neatly skirted around the Bears fullback.

The Bears were now reeling as Mo Agorro scored the first of what was to be three tries and then Parker added his second.

It was now imperative that the Bears claw their way back into the game, and Dave Scott’s kick caused all sorts of problems for the Keighley defence and Hayden Freeman scored the Bears’ first try of the afternoon.

But on this occasion, any thought of a comeback was stifled as Mo agora added to his tally of tries and the Cougars’ Jack Miller further extended the home sides lead.

But the Bears still had some fight left in them and the final try of the first half was a Coventry one as Dan Coates pounced on the ball after a Reece Rance kick bounced off the crossbar.

With a 40-12 half time scoreline, the game was in little doubt, but the Bears re-entered the fray looking a lot brighter than they had started the first half.

Brad Clavering powered over for the Bears to add respectability to the scoreline before the game descended into an evenly matched but largely lethargic stalemate.

The Cougars had a player sin-binned but the Bears couldn’t capitalise on the 10 minute numerical advantage, and late on in the game the home side added another, courtesy of Ryan Wright.

The Bears’ final home game of the regular season is against a rapidly improving West Wales Raiders side next Sunday.