Keighley 17, Wath-Upon-Dearne 12

Keighley, with a much-depleted team, played extremely well to gain a deserved victory which kept their slim SSE Yorkshire Division One survival hopes alive.

Wath started brightly, using their big forwards to compress the Keighley defence.

Although they dominated territory for long periods, they were unable to crack a resolute rearguard, marshalled by Danny McGee and veteran centre Neil Jordan.

As the half progressed, and with the forwards working hard, Keighley began to pressure the opposition line, and a fine drive from a line-out gave flanker Dave Pullen the chance to score.

In the second half, both teams were nervy, leading to lots of errors.

Eventually Wath managed to put their game together and good work at a line-out and a strong drive allowed captain Simon Lines to cross wide out.

Keighley’s problems were compounded when a neat half-break by outside half Joe Bartlett led to a score under the posts for centre Andrew Hopkin, winger Tom Quinn adding the conversion.

Once again, Keighley raised their game, which led to a fine break down the wing by full back Sam Blakely.

Taking the tackle, he managed an offload which gave support player McGee a run-in under the posts for Ollie Mitchell to convert.

With less than ten minutes to go, winger Sam Walker fielded a loose kick deep in his own half and ran through the Wath team to score in the corner.

With time running out, Wath once again camped in Keighley territory.

However, the Keighley defence held firm to gain the valuable league points.

As expected, Pontefract, who Keighley need to climb above, gained maximum points at home to bottom club Acklam, courtesy of a 56-24 victory.

Keighley who have a game in hand, now trail Pontefract by nine points and need two more wins, including a bonus point, while hoping that Ponte pick up nothing at Bridlington.