Coming off the back of a defeat at Sid Kallas the previous week, the Magpies raised a few heartbeats at Manildra but were unfortunately just shy of victory.
First blood came from Josh Weston, planting a handy try for the Magpies and causing Manildra's confidence - earned by a sound win on Magpies home turf - to shatter, with the team switching on.
The first half saw an aggressive force against the Magpies, with a few opportunities to exploit mistakes lost.
The Magpies defense held up against a relentless assault, however Manildra managed two tries in quick succession just before half time.
Cowra answered, putting Manildra on the back foot with Ricky Whitton and Dan Hatch each making stunning breakthroughs, supported by team mates and converting.
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"I think if we had another five minutes of that energy we would have taken the game" said Mr Ingram. "It was a really good performance by us, just a bit bit unlucky. We were finishing the stronger of the two, and we just couldn't crack the opportunities in the end. So, it is what it is but it was a much better performance than the previous week."
Manildra's performance had been strong, however the Magpies came away having worked well as a team.
"The boys were making that extra effort on the inside and your teammates, not focusing on individual stuff or anything like that - we do what we can to help each other out. And the boys rolled into it, they were really turning up for one another." said Mr Ingram.
Having faced off an incredibly aggressive side, with defenses holding up through discipline and teamwork, the Magpies are digging deep to go on the offensive.
"We kind of bite into some of that aggression, we want to be aggressive, but we want to control that. And that's what I think we did for the first good 20 minutes, and that we were really matching. We always talk to the boys about staying in the grind and completing our sets and building pressure, and we were really doing that. It's usually about who is going to break first, and they broke first because we scored the first try."
Looking ahead to Molong, Cowra's season wide performance means a comp win is still up for grabs.
"We're there for a reason, they're there for a reason. We all made the semis, it's just a matter of who turns up on the day with the right attitude and who wants it the most, we've just got to get our gameplan right, we don't want to lose at home," Mr Ingram said.
"It's still the same goal for us -- three games and we win the comp. There's no tomorrow."
League Tag also performed strongly, but were unable to win against Cargo at 19-0
Youth League defeated Narromine 26-0, in what Mr Ingram described as their best performance this year.
Cowra plays Molong at Sid Kallas oval this Sunday, August 17.
