Lee Crooks was given the perfect start to his reign as Keighley coach with a hard-fought victory to lift the gloom.

The former Great Britain international replaced John Kain this week after a disappointing start to the season which had left Cougars second bottom of the First Division with no points from their opening four games.

In his programme notes, Crooks warned the Cougar Park faithful he had no miracle cures to put Keighley's season back on track, but promised his side would show total commitment in the weeks ahead.

And Keighley justified that pledge with a hard-working performance peppered with some good handling to seal their first league victory of 1998.

It was a win built on a solid display from the pack, with David Larder and Mark Campbell working tirelessly all afternoon against their larger Leigh counterparts.

In fact, the whole Keighley team deserve great credit for the way they stuck to their task against a Leigh side who refused to bow down, despite spending most of the game in their own half.

The game was billed as a relegation four-pointer with both sides desperate for victory, and the importance of the clash was illustrated in the opening exchanges, where no quarter was asked or given.

However, Keighley's pressure eventually paid off as they ran in six tries to just two from Leigh to seal an important victory.

Despite this being a real team effort, one player who deserved special praise was prop Alan Julian. He put in his usual powerful display with a tremendous amount of tackles to drive a dogged Leigh side back, as well as bringing the ball out of defence several times.

Behind the pack, Chris Robinson also enjoyed a lively game at scrum half and used his experience to create several good openings for his colleagues.

It was Robinson who gave Cougars the lead after just three minutes when he crashed over for a try, and many fans were hoping for a comfortable victory. However, although Keighley were clearly the better side for much of the game, it wasn't until they scored tries through debutant Dave Smith and Kris Kirk in the final 15 minutes that the game was sealed.

Leigh certainly put in a determined display, but Cougars were also guilty of allowing the visitors back into the game by needlessly handing the visitors all their points through two tries and two penalties.

First, the otherwise superb Matt Foster gifted Ian Hudspith a try by spilling a grubber kick, and then after the break, Fred Sapatu dropped a simple ball, to hand John Costello a touchdown.

However, these apart it was a superb defensive effort by Crooks' side, with Foster putting in several important tackles, as well as bringing the ball out of defence with his devastating pace.

Crooks was delighted to start with a victory. "Everyone who starts a new coaching job wants to get away with a win, but we aren't out of the woods yet and we have a long way to go.

"I am looking forward to the challenge and if the players put the same amount of work into training and playing that they have this week then we will be all right. The biggest thing that struck me was the enthusiasm of the side."

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