Lingard blasts Keighley’s defensive display

Keighley boss Craig Lingard bemoaned his team’s defensive frailties after the Cougars lost 58-42 against unbeaten Barrow on Wednesday.

The two sides shared 17 tries and 100 points between them, with the result keeping the Raiders at the top of League 1.

“I’m pleased we’ve played well in attack, but I’m massively disappointed with our defensive effort,” Lingard told the club’s official website.

“I don’t think that playing twice in four days affected the game, as everyone who pulled up fit following Sunday’s game declared themselves fit so you expect them to give you that 100 percent effort.

“We played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the second half, but I was massively frustrated at half-time as you can’t give a side as good as Barrow a 30 point head start and expect to get back into the game.

“We gave ourselves belief with the two late scores in the first half but like I said, defensively we just weren’t good enough.”