Keighley 0 Sandal 0

Taking a leaf from their defensive display at Bradford Salem nine days ago, this was another magnificent rearguard action by relegation-threatened Keighley.

Sandal, leaders of Yorkshire Division One, could have won it with an 80th-minute penalty but full back Chris Reakes' effort bounced back off the far upright.

Defeat would have been harsh on Keighley, who were beaten 66-3 at Sandal back in September.

Keighley's full back Warren Knowles, pressed back into first-team action when he is considering retirement, said: "The spirit is just tremendous at the moment, as you can see by the way we have turned the score around from the hammering they gave us at their place.

"We just carried on from the previous week's display against Salem, and almost took the lead just before half-time.

"Kevin Bottomley made the break, Rob Ellis took it on and then Slim' (Paul Sinfield) had a go. We must have taken that attack through four phases but were halted by the referee's whistle for half-time."

Knowles, who is delighting at being the third-youngest member of the team behind Bottomley (46) and Sinfield (38), added: "We tried to give our fly half Alex Brown the chance to drop a goal but by the time he got the ball all he could do was pass it.

"Then for 18 of the first 20 minutes in the second half we were trapped in our left-hand corner before slowly working our way upfield.

"Then they could have won with that late penalty but that would have been unfair. We deserved our two points."

That comment didn't find any argument from Sandal's fixture secretary Angus Moran, the former Bees playmaker having a close-up view of things as a touch judge.

He said: "We dominated territorially but we didn't create enough in the final quarter of the pitch. We weren't clinical enough. Keighley are fighting against relegation and defended superbly and it was a fair result in the end.

"We have three games left and we can afford to lose one of them and still go up because of our vastly superior points difference."

Keighley were without full back or centre Mark Beckett and winger Danny Lester (both working) and open-side flanker Dave Pullen (injured in training).

A superb tackle by Keighley centre Rob Wilkinson led to them gaining a penalty as Sandal hung on to possession but fly half Alex Brown's effort from near halfway fell just short in the fifth minute.

The hosts then had to reshuffle as hooker Will Armitage went off with a shoulder injury, flanker Nathan Thornton reverting to the front row, replacement Chris Wright slotting into the second row and Leigh Sugden dropping into the back row.

Brown was penalised for supposedly stepping back into his 22 to clear the ball but referee Simon Lazenby's 23rd-minute decision so incensed Keighley coach Jeff Inman that he was sent from the side of the pitch to behind the barriers.

Having survived the odd drop-goal attempt in what was a siege on their line, Keighley gradually worked their way into Sandal territory in the second half and almost created something when Bottomley chased a Sandal knock-on. However, the closing minutes of the match were played in Keighley's half.