Yorkshire Division One

Scarborough 27

Keighley 15

KEIGHLEY gave an uncharacteristically lacklustre performance on the east coast.

The home side were quickly out of the blocks and it was a full 15 minutes before the visitors made any meaningful progress into opposition territory.

In the meantime, Scarborough had notched a 14-0 lead, bulky American prop Matty Jones forcing his way over following some half-hearted Keighley defending, and then fly half Tom Harrison winning the chase to touch down his own kick through, Harrison converting both scores.

Slowly Keighley crept into the game, taking play to the Scarborough line before conceding a penalty, which allowed the home side to clear.

Although under pressure in the scrums, Keighley continued to menace and harass the Scarborough defence and. after 30 minutes, Leigh Sugden bulldozed his way over the line following a five-metre scrum, with Alex Brown adding the extra points.

With their forwards unable to establish a solid platform, Keighley’s backs suffered a slow and often erratic supply of ball, despite the commendable efforts of half-backs Lucas Uren and Brown.

Fortunately Scarborough’s three-quarters were unable to exploit their regular supply of possession, largely due to over use of the boot and a generally tenacious Keighley defence.

A largely forgettable first half ended with Keighley wasting a good opportunity close to the line by spilling the ball.

Scarborough soon increased their lead in the second half when prop Nino Cutino secured the touchdown following a powerful drive from a five-metre line out, but Keighley remained in contention when Brown landed a well-struck penalty.

Soon afterwards, Harrison landed a similar effort for Scarborough but again Keighley hit back when hooker Shaun Minikin was on hand to dive over following a 15-metre maul to the line.

With time running out, Keighley were still in with a chance of a draw or even an unlikely victory, but it was the hosts who held the final ace.

A rare fluent crossfield move was finished off by centre Tom Ratcliffe to complete the scoring and secure a bonus point for his side.

Saturday’s home fixture is against a Selby side under threat of relegation, but an improved performance by Keighley is essential.

To accommodate the televised England v Scotland game, the kick-off at Rose Cottage has been brought forward to 2pm.