Keighley Under 9’s v Moortown Under 9’s at Baildon - 28th February 2010

Starting Team
Jack Rodborne
Tom Richardson
Will Halliday
Zac Scott
Joseph Myers
Keir Welch
Aaron Wilson
Lennon Curr
Alex Wormersley
Subs: - Harry Gould - James Field - Harvey Bird - Joss McArthur - Kian Saunders

Match Report

A bright start by both teams laid the foundations for what was to follow. Strong handling and determined tackling by both teams appeared to be the key feature of this highly contested match.
Neither team appeared to have any advantage and strong competition for any loose ball meant regular turnovers in the centre of the pitch where the majority of the play was engaged for the first 5 minutes or so. However a huge tackle by Will Halliday who was returning from illness, made its mark and the ball spilled to Zac Scott who flicked Aaron Wilson who had a sparkling run down the left touchline only to be forced into touch 2 yards from the try line by a desperate last-ditch Moortown tackle.
Moortown seized the advantage from the line-out and counter-attacked along the Keighley right flank but some stout resistance by Alex Wormersley and sterling work by Kian Saunders who was on for the winded Wilson forced the ball out on the ¼
The resulting lineout was taken by Tom Richardson to Jack Rodborne who powered forward drawing the ruck laid off to Lennon Curr who in turn released Keir Welch who jinked past 3 Moortown players to score the first points of the game.
Keighley (1) 5 – Moortown (0) 0 – 6 minutes played
From the restart Keighley won a loose ball through Joseph Myers and Saunders slipped through only to be held back by some aggressive Moortown defence.
Both teams competed gamely for every loose ball but neither would give any ground and while Keighley appeared to have the upper hand by attacking most, they were unable to penetrate the resolute Moortown back line. In the dying seconds of the first half both Scott and Halliday showed why they are beginning to build Keighley’s reputation as a fearsome tackling unit by clearing Moortown players out of play with 2 ferocious try saving tackles.
Half Time - Keighley (1) 5 – Moortown (0) 0
The second half started with Keighley making their usual player rotation changes with Harry Gould, James Field and Harvey Bird replacing Rodborne, Welch and Curr.
The game then ebbed and flowed for 4 minutes with both teams playing controlled ball retaining play which was regularly upset by stolen balls or turnover in the ruck but midway through the half, slow Keighley reaction from a Moortown scrum allowed a series of passes resulting in a runaway try which despite their best efforts, neither Gould or Halliday could prevent.
Keighley (1) 5 – Moortown (1) 5 – 14 minutes played
From the restart Keighley immediately pressed forward with a powerful run from Bird but they were continually frustrated by Moortowns’ dogged resistance but they began to force the play wider and this eventually paid dividends with a forceful drive from the ¼ to the line where the strength of the Keighley forwards put the Moortown boys on the back foot and Gould forced the ball to ground over the try line to give Keighley back a well deserved lead.
Keighley (2) 10 – Moortown (1) 5 – 17 minutes played.
For the final 3 minutes, Keighley managed to consolidate and unlike England the day before, resisted some assertive play from Moortown with Halliday, Field, Scott and Wormersley particularly effective in the tackle.
Final Score - Keighley (2 Tries) 10 Points – Moortown (1 Try) 5 Points
Keighley Scorers: - Welch 1, Gould 1.
“This was a highly competitive, well contested and very evenly matched game and both teams challenged 100% for every single ball” commented Keighley Coach Steve Welch. “We were particularly pleased with the way we played the ball to hand today and our form in open play was really good”