Stern test for on-form Keighley

Keighley Under 9’s v Huddersfield YMCA Under 9’s at Huddersfield YMCA
22nd November 2009
Match 1
Team
Jack Rodborne
Harry Gould
James Field
Tom Richardson
Will Halliday
Zac Scott
Joseph Myers
Keir Welch
Adam Pedley
Aaron Wilson
Lennon Curr
Kian Saunders

Match Report
Headline
Stern test for on-form Keighley
An even start saw both sides trade possession in the centre of the pitch with both sets of Forwards dominating play but unable to set up any real scoring chances.
With Huddersfield quick to break from the scrum and with their Forwards prepared to punish any lost ball, Keighley, slightly against the run of play capitalised on a dropped ball on the Huddersfield ¼ and Zac Scott managed to power over in the left corner for the first trey of the match with 2 Huddersfield players in attendance.
Huddersfield 0 – Keighley 1 – 4½ minutes played.
It looked like Huddersfield would come back straight away but a great interception by Will Halliday who broke from his own 5 yard line to race 40 yards almost doubled Keighley’s lead but he was forced down on 5 yards by 2 Huddersfield chasing players. His feed off to Kian Saunders was also stopped just short of the line.
With Huddersfield unable to clear their lines, Keighley piled on the pressure which Huddersfield resisted with some great combination tackling but the majority of the play was in the centre of the pitch, both sides breaking swiftly with the Backs channelling play down the lines. For almost 5 minutes both teams traded lineout’s and scrums which were in the main won with good ball.
On 10 minutes from a loose Huddersfield line-out, Tom Richardson dispossessed his opposite half and passed to Zac Scott who raced over from 20 yards to score his second try of the game.
Huddersfield 0 – Keighley 2 – 10 minutes played
If Keighley thought they could relax they were very wrong as straight from the restart, they conceded a penalty and were caught ball watching during player rotation as the Huddersfield centre powered forward where Aaron Wilson and Keir Welch despite their best efforts, could do little stop the bigger player to score in Keighley’s weakened right corner.
Huddersfield 1 – Keighley 2 – 11 minutes played
Huddersfield took heart from this and pushed Keighley hard in the centre of the pitch but outstanding tackling by Will Halliday, James Field and Tom Richardson meant that Keighley had more of the play but couldn’t turn their pressure into tries. Both teams traded possession with enterprising runs from the Keighley Backs always under pressure from more than one Huddersfield player.
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The half time team talk from Coach Steve Welch did the trick as Keighley started the second half with much more purpose.
Keighley pressed the Huddersfield players into making mistakes but again could not convert this to score. Scrums and Line-outs again were traded but from a Keighley lineout on halfway excellent cross field passing following yet another storming tackle from Will Halliday, Keighley surged forward only to be held 1 yard from touch when James Field was forced to ground. Keighley didn’t give up possession and the ball was fed the resulting ruck from Lennon Curr to Harry Gould who split the Huddersfield back line to deservedly score Keighley’s third in the right corner.
Huddersfield 1 – Keighley 3 – 20 minutes played
From the restart Huddersfield still didn’t give up but great tackling from Zac Scott feeding Adam Pedley nearly led to another try from Keighley.
With sustained pressure from the Keighley Forwards and great carries from Jack Rodborne and Joseph Myers, Huddersfield were always able to put more than 2 or 3 players to ball to thwart Keighley’s best efforts.
With almost the last play of the game, Keighley driving really hard gained possession on the 5 yard line and when released from the resulting scrum, Zac Scott scurried into the far corner almost out of touch to sneak his third try of the game.
Final Score
Huddersfield 1 – Keighley 4
Scorers
Zac Scott – 3, Harry Gould – 1
This was a hard-fought game between 2 very mobile and competitive teams which despite the score-line Keighley just edged thanks to their more consistent handling and fewer mistakes.
“This was a much tougher match for the boys” commented Team Coach Steve Welch. “We battled well and showed good spirit although we did lose some shape in the middle of the first half” he added.

Keighley Under 9’s v Bramley Under 9’s at Huddersfield YMCA
22nd November 2009
Match 2
Match Report
Headline
Size and mobility stun Keighley
Having been taken to task in a hard-fought match by Huddersfield, Keighley faced a bigger and potentially faster Bramley side who were keen to take advantage of their size advantage and capitalise on Keighley’s weary legs.
Keighley started brightly enough but Kier Welch took a knock in the first tackle of the half and was replaced by Aaron Wilson.
Bramley quickly showed their strength and weight advantage by winning the second scrum of the match after a defensive mistake by Keighley and their prop forward powered through the centre of the Keighley line to score on 4 minutes.
Bramley 1 – Keighley 0 – 4 minutes played
From the restart Keighley seemed to lose focus but some sterling work from Will Halliday and Zac Scott backed up by Harry Gould and James Field kept the Bramley attack as bay until the 8th minute when Bramley forced a line-out on the Keighley 5 yard line which Keighley could not clear and the power of the Bramley forwards showed as they forced the ball over on touch in the corner to score their second with Keighley appearing to be tiring after being made to work so hard by Huddersfield in the first game.
Bramley 2 – Keighley 0 – 8 Minutes played
Keighley pushed forward to try to gain lost ground and both Adam Pedley and Lennon Curr had good chances to release other players but decide to run the ball where the Bramley forwards overturned possession.
Bramley attacked in waves and all the Keighley players dug in and tackled superbly but again the size advantage of the Bramley players was telling as most of the Keighley possession was forced into touch when they attempted to break clear.
On half time, Keighley again failed to clear and the loose ball was picked up by Bramley who again split the tired Keighley defence to score their third of the game on the half time whistle.
Bramley 3 – Keighley 0 – Half Time
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Keighley came out for the second half determined to make amends for their indifferent play in the first half.
They pressed Bramley hard with Joseph Myers feeding Kian Saunders from a lineout on the halfway line and a great drive to the Bramley 10 yard line but a loose ball was picked off by the Bramley winger who ran the length of the field to score in the right corner.
Bramley 4 – Keighley 0 – 22 minutes played
From the restart, Bramley continued to press home their advantage but Keighley did not give up and ferocious tackling by Will Halliday and great backing up by Harry Gould and Jack Rodborne saw Keighley stabilise the situation.
Keighley were awarded a penalty on halfway after Will Halliday was held back and some great interpassing between Tom Richardson and Zac Scott led to Keighley’s best effort of the half and Harry Gould was then taken to ground by 4 Bramley players on the 5 yard line.
Keighley just could not find a way through the resolute Bramley defence and from another misplaced pass, the Bramley winger again showed his speed and scored unchallenged in the corner.
Bramley 5 – Keighley 0 – 25 minutes played.
Keighley had no answer to the Bramley pressure but some great work saw Keighley press forward to try to score and some questionable Bramley tactics off the ball only served to heighten Keighley’s frustration. However they didn’t lose heart and battled gallantly to the end, coming within inches of scoring in the dying seconds when Harry Gould and Will Halliday combined on the right before being run out of touch on the Bramley 5 yard line.
Final Score
Bramley 5 – Keighley 0
“We had no real answer to the size and strength of the Bramley players and we made too many mistakes in giving up possession but we really pushed hard and tried 100%” said Coach Steve Welch.