Barrow Raiders forward Charlie Emslie says the squad must move on quickly from their Round 24 defeat at Keighley Cougars.

The Raiders let slip a 20-10 half-time lead at Cougar Park as the hosts scored 16 unanswered points and picked up two precious competition points in their fight for Betfred Championship survival.

Emslie admits the defeat was tough to take, but says the Raiders must re-focus quickly ahead of another pivotal game against Swinton Lions at the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium this Sunday.

“Sunday was devastating, and more so because we only had ourselves to blame,” he said.

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“We showed that we were good enough to take control and secure a win within that first half, but in the second half we were our own worst enemy and made it hard for ourselves.

“However, we are going to use that as a positive going into this Sunday, as now it’s more important than ever to get that win.

“It was us who threw the game away at Keighley, so if we can fix what went wrong in the second half, I’m confident we can get the win.

“Everyone was devastated after the game on Sunday and emotions were high, but we all said what was needed to say and put last week behind us.

“We can’t dwell on that game, as this week is a brand-new opportunity to end the season successfully.”

Sunday sees the Raiders host a Swinton side a point and a place below them in the league table.

With three games remaining, a win for Paul Crarey’s side would mean they’d travel to Newcastle Thunder the following weekend knowing victory in the north-east would secure Championship status for another season.

The Raiders were well supported at Cougar Park last time out, and Emslie believes a strong home following could be the difference on Sunday.

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“Swinton have a strong pack and when they get a roll on they look dangerous, but I feel like if we can control that, then we can get joy from playing our style of rugby,” he admitted.

“The fans have a huge say on what happens in this run-in, and we can’t thank them enough this year for supporting us.

“Even though things haven’t gone to plan on the pitch, we need them more than ever for these next few games.

“It was amazing to see so many of them on Sunday, and a real shame we couldn’t get the two points for them. However, they were still loud and proud until the very end which we appreciate a lot.”

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