Danny Horne

Silsden Park Rangers 54

Hillsborough Hawks A 4.

Silsden Park Rangers went top of Division Four with a resounding 54-4 home win against Hillsborough Hawks A to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

The Cobbydalers got off to a dream start with an early try after Phil Lane and Mick Preston combined to send in Dave Webster ,who spun over the line in 'Paul brothers style' in the right corner.

A towering touchline conversion by John Williams gave Silsden a 6-0 lead. They continued to dominate and adapted to the conditions despite a greasy surface. Rangers extended their lead when in-form centre Phil Lane weaved his way over from close range,to give Silsden a 12-0 lead courtesy of another Williams conversion.

The visitors had their best spell of pressure but the Silsden tackling remained solid and all Hillsborough had to show were two penalty goals. A further try before half-time by Danny Horne gave Silsden a 16-4 advantage at the break.

The introduction of Wayne McCombe at half-time gave Silsden a new dimension on attack, and with almost his first touch he scored a superb try after beating several defenders.

Strong tackling from Wayne Hudson, Dave Webster and Tobi Hooper kept the visiting pack at bay and the floodgates opened for Rangers. Danny Horne added a further three tries to his first half effort. Phil Lane crossed for his second and Matt Horne added another.

The move of the match was Wayne McCombe's crossfield kick that landed perfectly in the arms of impressive scrum half Alan Preston. John Williams ended the afternoon with a strike ratio of seven goals from ten attempts.

Coach Tony Williams was happy with the win but he knows there are tougher assignments to come starting with Dodworth tomorrow, Saturday, 2.30pm kick off.

Keighley Albion 'A' 10

Moorends 26

On a boggy pitch at Highfield, the Albion second string put in a creditable performance against a strong Yorkshire Senior Division side. Boosted by the signing of Patrick Brown and reinforced by the addition of regular first-teamer Alistair Feather the Keighley side gave as good as they got.

Ball control was not easy and Albion lost early possession, gifting Moorends the platform for a quick converted try.

The home side settled to their task and ferocious tackling, by prop Danny Bowness and centre Adam Beaumont gave Albion the impetus to comeback into the game.

The advantage was driven home in some style when Richard Hollins took a tap penalty 20m out and prop Andy Broughton used his speed and strength to force his way over. James Young added the conversion to put Albion back in contention.

A few minutes later hooker Richard Hollins scooted from the play-the-ball to put Albion ahead, but James Young could not add the conversion.

After this Albion regularly coughed up possession and Moorends took advantage to run in three tries to make the score 22-10 at the break.

Playing downhill in the second half the Keighley side exoected to come back. Half-backs Craig Livock and James Young masterminded the attack allowing loose forward Patrick Brown and centre Adam Beaumont to hit the gaps. However Moorend's defence held firm and both sides ended up sliding around in the mud until the Doncaster side crossed for a late try.

Though Albion are still without a win after four matches under new coach Pete Dutton, they can take heart from their non-stop effort against a much higher placed team.

Prospect Warriors 52

South Craven Crushers 4

Barnsley side Prospect Warriors showed why they are currently top of Division Six, scoring a goal after only three minutes. They soon increased their lead to 12-0.

With three players making their debuts, and several regulars playing out of position the Crushers were finding it difficult to get into their stride, but were superbly led by skipper for the day Thomas McAndrew .

Crushers began to ease their way back into the game with Gordon Ferguson crossing the line after 20 minutes, but Warriors turned up the heat running in four more tries, with two converted, to take a 28-4 half time lead.

The second half followed a similar pattern with the Barnsley side scoring at regular intervals. Coach Paul Kelly was not too disappointed, saying: "Prospect Warriors were in the same position as us two years ago but are now top of the table. We are a young side and we need to build quietly and not expect too much too soon."

n Keighley Town lost their Yorkshire Cup clash with Skirlaugh Bulls 18-0 and the club's A team beat Wetherby 18-0 in Division Four of the Pennine League.