The injury-ravaged Tigers were hammered 60-6 by the rampant Wigan Warriors at Wheldon Road, the visitors’ reward a tie against Rovers in a repeat of last year’s last-four clash.
There is the potential for an all-Yorkshire Wembley final after Huddersfield were paired with Warrington Wolves, who booked their place in the semi-finals with a resounding win at St Helens.
Castleford were long odds to reach the last four but the manner of the defeat frustrated Lingard.
“If there was ever a game that showed you the difference between the top of Super League and the bottom of Super League, that was it,” he said. “Wigan were outstanding and we were very, very ordinary.
“If you defend tough and get the ball back in good positions, it makes the game a lot easier. Unfortunately, we weren’t willing to do the defensive side of the game today. Too many times we sat back and allowed Wigan to run at us and there were too many people with one-on-one misses.
“There are ways to win games and ways to lose games. That certainly wasn’t a way to lose a game, regardless of the players that weren’t playing.”
Castleford were without a dozen injured players and could not live with the Warriors.
Lingard will continue his search for reinforcements ahead of Friday’s Super League rematch at the DW Stadium.
“We’re trying to get some bodies in and we’re hopeful of doing that this week at some point,” he said.
“Those conversations with other clubs are fluid because the situations are changing based on injuries and the positions they need to cover.”
