Keighley Cougars 14 Whitehaven 18: A last-gasp try from Carl Sice ended Keighley Cougars’ five-game winning run in dramatic fashion.

The Whitehaven hooker scored 30 seconds from time to clinch victory in a tight battle between the Championship One promotion contenders.

But Cougars chief Jason Demetriou reckons his side should have been out of sight by that point and believes they were architects of their own downfall.

“We were just poor with the ball,” he said. “We made 18 errors and you just can’t do that.

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“We put ourselves in front at 14-12 with not long to go and then just conceded penalties and made mistakes.

“They were lucky to snatch it at the end but then either team would’ve been lucky to win.”

Mal Wiper touched down within five minutes of kick-off for Haven, Lewis Palfrey converting, but Keighley hit back through Ryan Benjafield. Paul Cullnean scored another try converted by Palfrey to give the visitors a half-time lead before Cougars dominated the second half.

Danny Lawton and Andy Shickell both scored as they enjoyed a mountain of possession but Keighley couldn’t strike the killer blow.

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That left the door open for Sice’s late heroics, which took Haven within three points of the second-placed Cougars and allowed Swinton to open a four-point gap at the top.

Keighley: Haythornthwaite, Duffy, Lawton, Sagar, Hutchinson, Demetriou, Heliwell, Shickell, Feather, Benjafield, Cartledge, Pursglove, Jones. Substitutes: Wray, Law, Rawlins, Baines.

Whitehaven: Bauer, Hamzat, Wiper, S. McAvoy, Calvert, Palfrey, Rudd, Hill, Smith, Isakka, Doran, S. Miller, Beattie. Substitutes: Sice, Cullnean, Ford, Wilton.

Referee: C Leatherbarrow (RFL)