Keighley 16 Halifax Irish 10

Keighley moved up to fifth in the Pennine League Premier table with their third league win of the season, despite fielding a weakened team.

Captain Danny Snowden won the toss and elected to play up the slope in the first half.

The hosts defended well until a grubber kick bounced kindly for Irish to give them a 4-0 lead.

From the restart, Halifax kicked into the corner and Keighley worked the ball out, releasing Joe Copper-waite, who passed to Chris Dooling. He offloaded in the tackle to the outstanding Chris Price, who romped in from close range.

A well-worked converted try from a tap penalty gave Irish a six-point advantage until five minutes before half-time when Alex Young broke the line from a Price pass, drawing the full back to send Ryan Gaughan over for his first try for the club.

The second half was a forward-dominated tussle, with Luke Moorby, Luke Dowse and Sean Metcalfe putting in some great tackling stints.

The deadlock was broken by a training ground move – the evergreen Daz Lynam putting Daz Jackson through the smallest of gaps to score by the posts, Joe Copper-waite adding the extras.

Keighley held out under great pressure from the visitors to climb the table.

They have no game at the weekend due to the World Cup final.

*Keighley ARLFC are holding a sportsman’s dinner tomorrow night at Victoria Hall, featuring Terry O’Connor, Barrie McDermott and Henry and Robbie Paul. For tickets, please contact Pickard Hardware on 01535-665765.