The first half saw Keighley starved of possession and struggling to come to terms with the referee’s interpretation of breakdown play, as a result Northern gained an early penalty from outside half Donal Collins. Although Northern mounted waves of attacks through forwards and backs they were unable to break a resolute defence.
In a rare attacking play, Keighley’s forwards with Stuart Inman and Leigh Sugden to the fore drove play to the opposition twenty two metre area, big Bob Clarke was stopped inches short of the line, in the end they had to settle for a penalty from Alex Brown.
Northern returned to the attack, but for all their possession and territorial advantage they were only able to gain two further penalties from Collins and a Keighley player yellow carded for offside.
The second half was almost a complete reversal. From the restart Keighley were a different team, having absorbed a huge amount of pressure in the first half they now had the measure of Northern. An early penalty gave Alex Brown the opportunity to put the ball into touch on the five metre line. Quality line out possession and a powerful drive from the pack saw Leigh Sugden finish off the move, crossing in the corner, Alex Brown added the difficult conversion.
Keighley now playing with skill and determination kept Northern under continual pressure; both Bob Clarke and Marco Ferrazzano came within inches of scoring. Northern eventually returned to the Keighley half and regained the lead with a penalty from Collins. Once again Keighley increased the pressure which led to centre Ben Blackwell grounding the ball over the try line, unfortunately the referee missed it and Keighley had to make do with a penalty from Brown.
With literally seconds remaining Keighley weathered a last ditch attack from Northern. With the ball safely contained in a series of rucks, and the referee calling ‘last play’ the ball miraculously appeared on the opposition side of the breakdown, a quick pass from the base gave outside half Collins a last chance at a drop goal. The ball looked to be going wide, however to Keighley’s consternation it struck an upright and through the posts. ‘Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory’.
Unfortunately for the newly promoted Keighley team this is the third time they have lost in the dying minutes of games through dropped goals.
This week another visit to the North East to do battle with Middlesborough.