KEIGHLEY 28 SELBY 23

But at least it wasn’t the major let-down of a defeat, and it was another five points gained in their bid to hold off Heath for third position.

“We didn’t have the intensity that I want to see week-in, week-out but I was pleased with the result, although their late converted try made the score flattering in their favour,” said Keighley’s head coach Graeme Sheffield.

“We had the edge in the forwards but they had some good backs and scored some nice tries.

“Having talked about intensity at half-time, it was disappointing how we started the second half.”

With centre Alex Webster already having made one break, Selby, who had won the reverse clash 38-15, took the lead with a Daniel Porter penalty in the ninth minute after Nathan Thornton was penalised for not rolling away after making a tackle.

Keighley’s response was swift as Alex Brown replied with a penalty two minutes later after Selby’s backs were offside in front of their posts.

With Marco Ferrazzano and Ian Buckley putting in a good early hit each, Keighley began to show their creativity in attack.

A short line-out by Will Armitage to Ollie Sugden helped Keighley break into Selby’s 22, the latter even throwing a neat dummy but his pass then went forward to Armitage when the front-row union were threatening a try down the right-hand touchline.

A second Brown penalty made it 6-3 in the 22nd minute, and second-rower Buckley scored a try four minutes later, getting up in support of scrum half Adam Balderstone’s break.

Brown missed the conversion and Porter was wide with a penalty after a Selby player was taken out in a line-out but Keighley showed their pack dominance five minutes before the interval when skipper Leigh Sugden grabbed the first of his three tries after a comprehensive victory in the scrum.

Brown converted to make it 18-3 and Keighley brought on the experienced Dave Pullen at half-time for Thornton in a bid to tidy up possession.

Keighley were slow to settle in the second half and winger Alex Arthur’s five-pointer was a reminder of how pacy Selby were in the backs.

Porter’s penalty in the 48th min-ute, after Balderstone was offside, made it 18-11, Balderstone and Porter being sin-binned three minutes later after a melee.

Sam Walker, try hero from the win over Malton & Norton, almost scored another in the 55th minute and, with Keighley turning the screw, Ollie Sugden’s pass to centre Adam Horsfall was less than perfect and was knocked on with the line beckoning.

Leigh Sugden’s peel off the back of the scrum gave him his second try in the 59th minute, which made it 23-11, but trickery by Porter then put in Webster for a try seven minutes later.

Skipper Sugden’s hat-trick in the 70th minute meant there was no late cause for alarm and brought home the bonus point as well.

With centre Ben Blackwell already on for Ferrazzano, Keighley’s fourth try was the signal for George Fletcher to replace Ollie Sugden in the front row.

Flanker Tom Lowther was sin-binned for pushing Selby scrum half Mathew O’Connor in the 75th minute, and the visitors made their numerical advantage pay with a try for O’Connor in the third minute of stoppage time, Porter converting.