Keighley 30 Huddersfield YMCA 10

After a tightly fought first 40 minutes Keighley drew away in the second half, running in three tries to record an invaluable win over relegation rivals Huddersfield YMCA.

Two penalty goals by Alex Brown against one by Huddersfield stand off Jack Swift gave Keighley a narrow lead at the interval but this could easily have been reversed had Swift been more successful with the boot.

He missed three kickable penalty attempts in quick succession as Keighley struggled for possession and frittered away several try scoring chances.

Visitors second row men Whitehead and Hellawell dominated the early line-outs and for much of the half Keighley lived on scraps. The scrum was solid enough and when given the ball the home backs looked sharp and eager.

Young hooker Will Armitage slotted in well and David Pullen justified his move to the back row with some effective scrapping for the ball on the ground and was solid in defence.

Keighley had the better scoring chances. Second row man Michael Feather twice and prop Ollie Sugden once were pulled back for forward passes after breaking clear and a fine touchline run by full back Matthew Cox brought the best out of the stretched Huddersfield defence.

An early second half penalty goal by Brown prompted the Keighley revival, and was followed by a smart try by Mark Beckett from a quickly taken tapped penalty with Brown converting to establish a 16-3 lead.

The visitors' pack began to tire as Keighley applied continuous pressure on the try line for over ten minutes. On at least three occasions they crossed but were unable to ground the ball before flanker Leigh Sugden found space on the tight side of a scrum ten metres out and touched down after an unstoppable charge to the line. Again Brown added the extra points.

A moments relaxation and confusion in defence next allowed Huddersfield centre Chris Belton to claim a try from a kick ahead with Swift converting but Keighley struck back to complete the scoring with a 40-metre break-away try by the energetic Feather.

Brown capped an immaculate afternoon with the boot adding his third conversion to his three penalty goals for Keighley to run out clear and deserved winners.

It was a much improved performance by an all round efficient side. The pick of the forwards were hooker Armitage, second row Feather, flanker Leigh Sugden and No 8 Andy Bennett, whilst in the backs Matthew Cox and Brown earned the plaudits.

Saturday sees the side on its travels to Scarborough in the hope of completing the fixture at the fourth attempt. Skipper Rob Ellis and prop Evan Griffin will hopefully be back in contention for places in the selected team.