Keighley came perilously close to losing their 100 per cent home record with a lacklustre performance at Utley.

The two tries they scored clearly demonstrated their potential but inbetween they struggled to overcome a side of only modest ability, with a display which lacked cohesion and flair.

Too often their poor decision making and inability to retain possession let them down and it must be said that the lack of fitness of some players was often apparent. Old rivals Brodleians had the better of the early exchanges and Keighley's only response was a sparkling break by centre Richard Emmott which deserved better reward, but a series of unforced errors by Keighley enabled the visitors to clear the danger.

The Keighley scrum was often under pressure but they fared better in line outs where second row men Darren Close and Peter Southgate won a good share of possession. From one such take by Southgate Keighley's pack drove forward powerfully and the evergreen Chris Weatherill, Keighley's best forward on the day, forced his way over the line for a fine try converted by Simon Atkin. They were, however, unable to retain the initiative.

Two first half penalties by full back Horne kept the visitors in touch and only a fine cover tackle by Martin Uren on wingman Sykes denied Brodleians a try. Keighley created few scoring chances in the first half the best coming to wingman John Hinchliffe whose kick ahead was caught on the line as he followed up strongly. Perhaps a more orthodox approach might have paid better dividends.

Brodleians resurgence continued after the break and they took a deserved lead when prop Binns was driven over from close range after a long ranging touch kick by standoff Pentelow had taken play almost to the Keighley line.

A penalty goal miss by Atkin did nothing to restore Keighley's hopes and when visiting centre Cavalier crossed after a good build up by the backs Keighley's fate seemed to be sealed.

To their credit however, they dug deep on their resources and following good lineout work, again by Southgate, the ball was quickly rephased and fed smartly to centre Kevin Young who used his strength to cross under the post with Atkin converting. With only two points between the sides, it was likely the result would depend on the boot rather than the hand. Keighley's pack found some much needed momentum, with replacement prop Robert Riley in particular catching the eye, and after good possession from a ruck in the visitors 22 metre area standoff Chris Barker's drop kick scraped over the cross bar to earn Keighley a rather fortunate victory.n Keighley Under-11's beat West Park Bramhope 21-7 after Tom Bleasdale scored a first half try, converted by Scott Dyson.

They had the slope in their favour after the break and played some intelligent rugby, although Bramhope managed to level the scores. Tries for Liam McGee and Oliver Robinson, with conversions from Scott Dyson and Liam McGee secured victory.

A brilliant performance from Nathan Berry, who led from the front, secured good ball for the backs to show all round handling skills.

n Keighley Colts showed their true potential with an impressive 46-7 victory over York.

After a tight 20 minutes Fitch switched play and threw a long pass for John Finn to sprint over. From then on forwards and backs combined well to score seven further tries, the highlight being a 70-yard effort involving eight players, finished by Petty.

Other try scorers were Williams (2), Hollings, Almond, McPhail and Curr, who also added three conversions. Skipper Gordon was outstanding in a fine team performance and Curr varied play intelligently at stand off.

n Keighley Under-12's travelled to West Park Bramhope and put the disappointment of the recent Yorkshire Cup competition behind them with a 35-14 victory. The whole squad of 17 players participated in some excellent tackling rugby, try scorers were Chris Steel, Jonathan jackson, Tom Wareing, Benn Hanson and new boy Mark Watson. Michael Hebden converted two and Ben Hanson three.

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