DUE to the bitterly cold weather conditions, Keighley's home game against Leodiensians was the only Counties One Yorkshire action of the weekend.

And on their artificial pitch, the hosts made the most of their opportunity, winning 24-5 to go one point clear of Goole at the summit.

The victory meant Keighley were able to avenge their only defeat of the season, when they lost 22-16 at Leos back in September.

A gripping 29-29 draw for Keighley at Wetherby in their previous game meant Goole had stolen a march at the top of the table, but with the East Yorkshire side having their home game with West Leeds called off on Saturday, they knew their spot at the summit was under threat.

Keighley did what they needed to do on Saturday, but were forced to work hard for their victory against a highly-competitive Leos side.

The game started well for the hosts, as they were awarded an early long range penalty that Alex Brown did well to convert.

There followed a period of dominance from the visitors, who were choosing to use the forwards at every opportunity to make the hard yards.

Veteran prop Simon Dowling was always to the fore, but try as they might, they were unable to make much headway thanks to the solid, well-organised home defence.

Keighley attempted to break the stalemate through some hard running play from their centres, Adam Horsfall and Jak Adams, and their mobile back row, however the Leos defence managed to hold firm.

In the end, the only payback for a great deal of effort was a further penalty for Brown.

After some midfield slog, Keighley gained territory and were achieving dominance at every scrum.

The result was a further penalty but to the dismay of the home supporters, the penalty was kicked to touch, with nothing coming of their brave choice.

Towards the end of the half, given the weather conditions, both teams did well to throw the ball around.

However, it was a day where defence dominated. Although neither team seemed like crossing the whitewash, Keighley gained a further two penalty scores from the reliable boot of Brown.

In the second half, Leos were more intent on using their speedy backline and some neat interplay from forwards and backs gave winger Frank Price the opportunity to cross out wide.

Keighley, stung into action, worked hard to find space, and both their wingers Sam Blakeley and Ben Parkinson made some good runs, but once again they were held out.

Towards the end of the game, Keighley raised the tempo, and with the forwards making inroads, they gained a great deal of territory.

That pressure led to a penalty in front of the posts and the hosts opted for the scrum.

That was driven forward, and with the Leos pack in disarray, number eight Tom Whyte touched down, with Brown adding the easy conversion.

With the game virtually in the bag Keighley turned the screw and once again, some excellent play from the forwards gave outside half Brown the chance to find full-back Alan Ebbrell, who used his pace to touch down out wide.

Although this was hardly a game for the purist, hard-working Keighley deserved their victory.

Next week they are on the road, facing a tricky assignment away to third-placed Old Rishworthians, looking to maintain their spot at the summit.