Keighley Albion 'A' 18

Upton 36

In this first round match for the BARLA National Cup, Albion had the benefit of a home tie but were against a side from the Yorkshire Senior Division and so several leagues 'above' the Keighley side.

Playing down the slope the visitors started strongly and crossed for an early try. Albion hit back by forcing their way into the Upton half and a high tackle on prop Martin Fryers lead to a penalty which Chris Brookes just shaded wide. Shortly after this he made amends by converting a later penalty for offside.

The match then settled down and the large Upton pack were held by resolute defence from Martin Fryers, John Thornton, Andy Parker and Glenn Palmer. Unfortunately shortly before half-time Chris Brookes showed his inability to stay on the field for the second week running, getting sin-binned for talking back to the referee.

The visitors soon made the extra man count, running in a try and though Paul Fryers hit back with a penalty the sides turned round with the score 4-12 in Upton's favour.

After the break Albion got off to the worst possible start, conceding two converted tries in the opening five minutes. Then the defence got its act together and stopped all the visitors attacks.

Halfway through the second half the heavy visitors' pack started to tire and this gave Captain Glenn Palmer and stand off Paul Fryers the space to attack the flanks. The first Albion try came when Glenn Palmer burst onto a short Andy Parker pass to cruise over. Slick handling then lead to a spectacular try for Gary Baxter, the substitute sprinting 20 metres to finish off a move that started in the Albion half.

Good though both these tries were they were eclipsed by the one from Dave Sanderson that followed. The winger was given the ball on the half-way line and little space to move. He then used his speed and skill to jink through 2 tacklers and set off for the posts. When the cover caught him 10 metres short he shrugged off two more defenders to complete a fine individual try. Paul Fryers then added the kick to put Albion six points behind.

The visitors were not to be denied their chance however and ran in two late tries to sew up their place in the second round draw. Albion can take heart from their efforts against a side used to a much higher standard than Pennine League Division 3.

Ulverston 70

Keighley Town 8

Keighley Town made the long trip to Cumbria to play Ulverston in the BNFL National Cup. They enjoyed the hospitality of the home club before and after the match -- but during the game it was a different story.

The Cumbrian side was packed with Barla internationals and ex-professionals and never let the Keighley side get into their stride.

Tom McAndrew and Adie Clough took the game from Ulverston but their lack of experience meant the tries were a long time coming despite the effots of man of the match Brian Ingham who was well supported by Dale Hanson and Mick Egan.

The Ulverston team was just too big to hold and they added stylish rugby to their bulk. Keighley captain Daz Lynam scored a good consolation try and his team never gave up trying.

Heywood Tigers 40

Silsden Park Rangers 5

Silsden Park Rangers went down 40-5 at Heywood Tigers in Pennine League Division Two. In their first game of the New Year Silsden never really got going until the final quarter of the match, when they started to put Heywood on the back foot.

Heywood scored first after Silsden lost the ball early in the tackle count in their own half. This set the tone for the match and Silsden found themselves with a mountain to climb by half-time, trailing as they were 22 points to 1 with the solitary point coming from a well taken drop goal from Alan Preston.

Neil Jordan and Mark Adams tried hard to lead by example in the second half but Heywood put the game beyond Silsden with early tries building up an unassailable lead midway throughout the second half.

Suddenly Silsden began to show what they are capable of with Andy Bowness probing and good strong running from Aaron Sugden, Rangers started to turn things around. Rob Leighton was held up inches short of the line before Captain, Neil Jordan, cleverly dummied his way over from short range for Silsden's solitary try. Toby Hooper kept the pressure on the home side when he switched to hooker late on but Rangers had left it much too late to save this game.

New coach, the experienced Alan Bancroft will not have been too impressed but the late revival can give him some crumbs of comfort. Next week Silsden Park Rangers travel to Emley Moor.

Keighley Under-17's 10

Leeds Tykes Academy 14

Keighley under seventeen's made only their second appearance of the season but played a full part in a highly entertaining game against a strong Leeds team.

For much of the season several of the under seventeen team have been playing under nineteen football with Keighley's Colts team and they put this experience to good use quickly establishing a five point lead through an early try from second row Nigel Curr after half backs Ian Woodwiss and Tom Rock had linked well to create the opening twenty yards out on the left.

They went further ahead when Curr added a second try after a period of pressure but he crossed too far out for the conversion attempt to be successful. Leeds responded with some enterprising rugby but Keighley's defence was up to the task with centres Chris Cooper and Chris Meehan prominent.

Leeds missed a penalty as they put pressure on the home line to make the half-time score 10-0 but in the end it was their goalkicking that was to prove decisive.

A series of close range penalties saw them score one converted try and a second shortly afterwards gave them a four point cushion with a quarter of the game to go. Keighley's blend of experienced under seventeen's and promising under sixteens mounted a fightback but could not maintain a position in the opposition half long enough to produce a points scoring opportunity, Leeds just hanging on to edge home 14-10.

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