The Sportsman is pleased to host the Betfred Challenge Cup fifth round fixture between the Batley Bulldogs and Keighley Cougars, kicking off at 3pm.
The two sides sit 7th and 8th respectively in the Betfred Championship, with both sides looking to maintain their status in the second division whilst pushing the leaders in a race for promotion.
The pair met already this season in February, with Batley claiming a 28-24 comeback home win after trailing 8-14 at half time. Dale Morton grabbed his first try of the season in the final minutes as head coach Craig Lingard secured victory over the team he managed for two seasons between 2017 and 2019.
Lingard’s former assistant Rhys Lovegrove is now at the helm of Keighley, and has enjoyed utilising key man, former Super League Man of Steel Luke Gale. The Cougars fell to Toulouse last time out in a 6-34 loss, but have still enjoyed a number of wins of late, including victories against London Broncos, Bradford Bulls and York City Knights.
Batley have also lost out recently to one of the division’s big hitters, as Featherstone Rovers visited Mount Pleasant. Fev claimed a 18-26 victory, but Batley bounced back with a 16-21 win away at Odsal against Bradford.
The two sides have varied histories in the Challenge Cup. Batley lifted the cup three times around the turn of the 20th century, however Keighley have only ever reached the final once back in 1938, losing to Widnes 18-5 at Wembley. Last year, Batley notched the biggest win of the competition as they defeated the Royal Navy rugby league team 66-6 in the fourth round before losing out to Featherstone, which was streamed live on The Sportsman.
Keighley haven’t been in the fifth round of the Challenge Cup since 2014 when they managed to go all the way to the quarter finals.
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