A BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE FOR MUCH DEPLETED KEIGHLEY

Hullensians 48 Keighley 5

A bad day at the office for a much depleted Keighley, who were facing a side that were desperate for league points to avoid relegation. Although Keighley started brightly with both forwards and backs handling well, the fresh Hullensians defence held them out. After ten minutes or so the lighter Keighley forwards began to get pushed around up front and were too prone to losing the ball in contact. With extra possession and early dominance in the forwards Hullensians grew in confidence and began to expand their game, some strong running led to an early try from centre Dom Bloomfield, converted by outside half Chris Lound. Keighley managed to survive a period of pressure only to lose the ball in contact, a quick thinking kick through and chase, and speedy winger Josh Langford was over between the posts, once again converted by Lound. Keighley with back rowers Shaun Minikin and Tom Willson tackling everything that moved battled away. However, the pressure through the opposition forwards narrowed the defence, which led to two well executed tries for Hullensian wingers Harrison Holmes and Josh Langford, both converted by Lound. As the first half drew to a close the introduction of Joe Copperwaite to the Keighley back line started to make a difference, combining with full back Rich Tillotson he found space for centre Allan Ebbrell to crash over wide out.

The second half started well for Hullensians with an early penalty for kicker Lound. Keighley at this stage of the game began to battle their way forward forcing their way into the opposition territory. However they tried too hard and some good chances went adrift through lack of composure. Once again the Hullensian forwards took control which led to gaps wide out, quickly exploited by centre Rob Harding, the well taken try was converted by Lound. A little later Lound added to his tally with a penalty. The last period of the game Keighley were trapped in their own twenty two metre area, the pressure built, and a series of scrums led to a try for number eight Jason Conroy, Lound who had not missed a kick all game brought the scoring to a close with the final conversion. This Friday evening under lights Keighley hopefully with a stronger more determined team face high flying Heath.