Keighley Albion u-13s 14 King Cross Park u-13s 12

ALBION scored with the last play of the game to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against perennial rivals King Cross.

The game settled into a pattern with the visitors' strong runners going up against Albion’s more expansive play.

Right on the stroke of half-time a kick bounced wickedly and King Cross' powerful centre pounced to give them the lead.

Albion raced out of the blocks in the second half when, off a scrum, a slick move and a superb final pass from Ben McParland gave Billy Lee the time and space to motor down the touchline and cross under the posts, with Josh Dickerson converting.

This pricked Albion into life and the middle men, led by the impressive Evan Jones, started to link play much better. After a fantastic set of fluid rugby, Riley Corby took the ball to the line and popped a pass through to McParland, who cut a great angle before sprinting clear into the corner.

Albion’s standards then slipped and King Cross, after some nice offloading, crossed near the sticks with the conversion taking them into a two-point lead.

It looked like the game had slipped away with King Cross literally only needing to complete a tackle. But Albion forced a spillage and Lee hacked ahead before a favourable bounce allowed him to touch down for the winning score.

McParland, Jones and Lee were nominated by the opposition as the top performers but all played their part in another improved team performance.

Albion next week face an almighty challenge when they face Division One heavyweights Stanningley in the first round of the Challenge Cup and will hope to count on a big home support.