Yorkshire Division One: Keighley 26 Old Brodleians 21

IN A fast-flowing entertaining contest, Keighley withstood a late challenge from second-placed Old Brodleians to secure a well-earned victory.

The hosts went ahead after only three minutes when fly half Alex Brown followed up his own neat chip ahead to touch down before adding the conversion.

Almost from the re-start, however, the visitors were back on equal terms after a comedy of errors by Keighley’s midfield backs allowed centre Dom Georgiou to score, with skipper Oliver Akroyd converting.

It was soon apparent that the visitors' strength lay with their solid pack, and Keighley’s forwards were often under severe pressure in the set-pieces.

Lively contributions in loose play and at the breakdown by hooker Will Armitage and flanker Shaun Minikin, however, kept the home side in the picture until a Brown penalty re-secured the lead on 30 minutes,

Keighley’s backs made good use of a limited supply of possession, and a great run by impressive full back Alfie Seeley set up a fine try for wingman Jack Atkinson, following slick handling by centres Adam Horsfall and Ben Blackwell.

At this stage, Keighley were well on top, and strong running by wingman Luke Carter and Seeley could easily have produced further scores, while Leigh Sugden was held up over the line.

The only reward for their considerable efforts, however, was a second Brown penalty goal after a high tackle, establishing a half-time lead of 18-7 for the home side.

Keighley maintained their superiority after the break, and neat work by Blackwell soon set up a try for the supporting Dan Snowden – his first for the club since joining from Bradford Salem.

Keighley’s 16-point lead looked almost unassailable, and a 50-metre charge by Blackwell took him almost to the line but he was unable to find support.

Excellent work by forwards Sugden, Minikin and Snowden in the loose nullified the more pragmatic approach of the visitors' pack, and solid midfield tackling forced their backs to resort to speculative kicking, which was competently dealt with by Seeley, Carter and Atkinson.

Well led by forwards Bennie Pritchett and Bob Sykes, however, Brodleians suddenly staged a strong revival.

A breakaway from defence brought a neatly-taken try for pacy wingman Tom Wilson, well converted by Akroyd, and they quickly added another when replacement Michael Briggs crossed under the posts, Akroyd’s conversion reducing Keighley’s lead to two points.

With ten minutes of play remaining and the visitors with their tails up, Keighley had to dig deep into their reserves of stamina.

But they also created chances, and flanker Tom Lowther was held up over the line, while Carter was narrowly beaten to the touchdown from a kick to the corner.

Finally Brown eased the tension with his third penalty goal as Keighley secured an excellent victory which moves them up a notch into fourth, only two points off second place.

Keighley head to Heath on Saturday.