Keighley 75 Bridlington 12
A coaches dream, when all the hard work in training pays off. Within minutes of the start a strong run by Keighley back row player Emile Van Zyl split the opposition defence, the ball was quickly moved to the wing and Taylor Prell was over in the corner. Prell was quickly back in the thick of things, his blistering pace caused havoc, quick hands found Jordan Yaxley in support and a well taken try that Alex Brown converted. Keighley had learned their lessons from last weeks turgid performance, breakdown play was much quicker and accurate distribution gave both wingers plenty of ball and space. Yet another attack from Prell was stopped short of the line, the last defender was adjudged to have made a high tackle that led to a penalty try. Bridlington forced their way back into the game but were hampered by a dominant Keighley scrum and defensive pressure that forced them into a kicking game. Keighley with both forwards and backs intent on multifaceted attacking play squeezed the life out of the brave Bridlington defence. The continual pressure told and a sniping try for scrum half Nathan Pickles, Brown added the extras. A little later a loose defensive kick from Brid was fielded by full back Ben Stead, he chose to attack and after making good ground the ball found Alex Brown who countered the rush defence with a rugby league style chip through that centre Adam Horsfall pounced on to score, Brown converted. Brid towards the end of the half gained some decent possession, hard work from the pack especially number eight Will Watts gave speedy full back Charlie Watts the chance he needed and a try wide out.

The second half started slowly, Brid gained confidence and were intent on attack, unfortunately for them a promising play broke down in the Keighley half, the ball found its way into the hands of Prell who raced sixty yards to score under the posts, Brown converted. The Brid forwards although suffering in the scrum at the hands of the excellent Keighley front row of Altham, Minikin and Heys gave it their all and managed to gain good ground but too often moves broke down. A kick was dealt with by full back Stead who broke away, eventually after some superb handling winger Alan Ebbrell exposed a gap in the mid field defensive wall to sprint through to score, once again Brown converted. Although the scoreboard was against them Brid never gave up and were rewarded for their efforts with a well taken try for Billy Carter, converted by captain Matiu Welch. Keighley refused to rest on their laurels and once again full back Stead found himself in possession in midfield, rounding the first defender he raced away to score, converted by Brown. Not to be outdone after spending all game distributing possession to others outside half Brown with a cheeky show and go broke free to score, he also added the conversion. Keighley with the end in sight gained a scrum on the Brid five metre line, there was little doubt about the outcome, a well controlled drive and a converted touchdown for number eight Tom Whyte. In the final minutes with the game in the bag Keighley wing forward Oliver Snowden was rewarded with the final converted try. This game was probably Keighley’s best performances in recent time, every player was outstanding. Next week perhaps a sterner test away at Leodiensians.