Injury-hit Workington Town suffered a 58-16 League One defeat at Keighley Cougars, their second heavy reversal to open the season.
With matches against two of the leading fancies in the competition it would have been tough with a full squad, but Town have had to do it with up to nine members of their squad missing through injuries.
Town started with three loanees in their line-up – Richard Lapori and Joe Purcell from Swinton and Cian Tyrer of Oldham – but were very quickly on the back foot.
The Cougars, on top throughout, scored 10 tries and nine of them were converted by Jack Miller. He only missed the last one in the closing minutes.
It took the home side only seven minutes to take the lead with a try from Mark Ioane and three minutes later last week’s hat-trick hero Ellis Robson touched down for the second.
As if the task was not hard enough Town conceded a third try on 17 minutes and Miller’s try and conversion had them scoring at more than a point a minute.
Substitute Dan Parker scored with his first touch on 25 minutes and it 24-0 it was looking decidedly ominous.
But JJ Key raised spirits for Town when he went over from Jarrod Sammut’s pass in the visitors’ first serious attack on the half-hour mark. Carl Forber put over the conversion.
It was Keighley who finished the half strongly, though, with two more tries before the break from Brandon Pickersgill and Junior Sau’u to lead 36-6 at the break.
Immediately on the re-start a fine break from Matty Henson put Key through for his second try, again converted by Forber.
But any thoughts of a Town fight-back were dispelled on 56 minutes when Chris Taylor was given ten minutes in the sin bin.
During his absence Keighley pulled away with tries from ex-Town player Oscar Thomas and Sa’u with his second.
Town did respond with an unconverted try from Henson on 62 minutes to make it 48-16 but in the last ten minutes Keighley scored two more tries through Pickersgill and Ioane.
The west Cumbrians will be looking to open their League One account on Easter Saturday when they travel to Newcastle Thunder who were humbled 70-16 at Midlands Hurricanes today.
Certainly coach Anthony Murray will hope for a couple of his injured players to be back in the firing line.
