Keighley grab Grovians win after surviving second half scare

The leaders, full of confidence, gained an early advantage, and some smart back play took them deep into the opposition 22-metre area.

But determined defence from the visiting Grovians and enforced errors stopped any chance of a score.

However, a big shove from the Keighley pack at a Grovians scrum was driven on by No.8 Tom Whyte.

He was brought to ground but quick thinking wing forward Jake Parkinson regained the momentum and crossed for a well-taken try.

Although Grovians struggled for possession and territory, they tackled well and were able to break down a number of Keighley moves.

When they did gain possession, strong play from their forwards and excellent handling in the backs began to cause Keighley a few problems.

Unfortunately, after 15 minutes of play, Grovians hooker Adam Crooks was injured, and had to leave the field.

Due to a lack of a front-row replacement, the scrums became non-contested.

Both teams then really started to throw the ball about, the outcome of which was a well-worked try in the corner for Keighley winger Kristian Bealey-Kay.

Towards the end of the half the game became far too loose, which suited Grovians, as they were able to use the pace of their backs to full effect.

But almost on the whistle, centre Sean Kelly calmed Keighley’s nerves when he broke away to score. Alex Brown added the conversion.

In the second half Grovians, who were 17 points down, threw caution to the wind and really began to play open rugby.

Flowing movement from their pacy back line put Keighley under pressure, and at times they looked a little lost in defence.

Grovians winger Will Johnson took full advantage. Using his real pace and excellent footwork, he danced his way through some weak defence to score wide out, with centre Jake Bentley landing the difficult conversion.

Keighley regained their composure and once again forced play into Grovians territory.

But then a loose pass was picked off by Grovians flyer Johnson, who once again sprinted away to score, with Bentley adding the conversion.

At this stage of the game, only three points adrift, Grovians fancied their chances, with Keighley, unused to the lack of structure, struggling to impose themselves.

Eventually, thanks to strong direct work from the second row pairing of Stuart Inman and Jordan Yaxley, as well as prop Sam Booker, Keighley regained the upper hand.

Pressure was rewarded when Keighley wing forward Shaun Minikin cut through the defence on a long diagonal run to score, with Brown converting to give the hosts some breathing space.

Centre Sean Kelly put the gloss on the scoreline and capped a really good personal performance when he carved his way through to score under the posts seconds before full-time, with Brown's conversion completing the scoring.