Barrow shock tame Tigers

Jamie Rooney inspired Barrow Raiders to a shock 34-28 victory against Super League side Castleford in the Carnegie Challenge Cup fourth round.

The Tigers were looking to get back on track after three consecutive league defeats, but collapsed when seemingly set in a winning position during the second half.

Barrow surged back and secured the upset with tries from former Castleford players Rooney and Ned Catic in the closing stages.

Terry Matterson's squad were missing loan players and decimated by injuries heading into the clash, but were able to welcome back Joe Westerman and Rangi Chase.

The pair had been absent from Tigers' eighth defeat of the season at the hands of Huddersfield Giants last weekend following allegations of late-night drinking.

Returns

Barrow lined up with four former Castleford players and their chances were boosted pre-match through Huddersfield's decision to allow on-loan Jermaine McGillvary to compete.

The visitors edged the opening exchanges at The Jungle and took the lead when a defensive error allowed Rooney in, with the 30-year-old converting his own try.

Jordan Thompson was the player at fault but he made amends eight minutes later by breaking through the Raiders' line to touch down, before Westerman converted.

However, Barrow responded shortly afterwards, with McGillvary stepping inside on the left flank and ghosting past the Castleford defence to restore the six-point lead.

The hosts were floundering but managed to turn the tie around as the first-half drew to a close as Westerman crashed over out wide.

After Westerman slotted through the conversion, Castleford took the lead when Chase fed a clever pass to Mitchell Sargent, who charged over the try-line.

Comeback

Two minutes after the restart, the Tigers began to get into their stride as they extended the lead through another Westerman try, before the tie was seemingly killed off by Kirk Dixon.

Westerman missed his conversion for the first time in the game, yet Castleford seemed to have a big enough cushion to progress to the fifth round.

However, the Raiders showed tremendous spirit to mount a victorious comeback.

First McGillvary snuck in again to reduce the deficit, before Steve Snitch's wayward pass was intercepted by Andy Ballard, who sprinted the length of the field before going to touch down under the posts.

Rooney's conversion gave Barrow hope and then he crossed the try-line again to complete the comeback and give Barrow the lead.

The two-point margin looked shaky but the Raiders kept the ball well and made sure of their passage into the next round after Catic went over in the dying stages.