Keighley below par but march on (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Keighley below par but march on

7:20pm Tuesday 20th December 2011 in Pennine League By Sports Desk

Keighley moved second in the Championship Division table with a seventh straight Pennine League win but were less than impressive in beating Westgate Wolves 28-6.

Keith Dixon’s side were their own worst enemy for most of the first half as dropped balls, bad passes and unforced errors made life difficult.

It took 30 minutes before a score was registered when Alex Young crossed in the right corner, made by some good work from Rick Barr and Josh Scott.

Joe Copperwaite then had a try controversially disallowed and this seemed to kick-start Keighley.

Strong running by full back Andrew Stokes saw him cross the line for a try and the extras were added by Copperwaite to make the interval score 10-0.

Keighley started the second half well but could not shake off their Wakefield hosts, who were battling hard with only 15 players on the teamsheet.

Westgate were back in the game when loose forward Adam Giant offloaded inside to full back Matty Woods to score, although Keighley claimed that Giant had knocked on.

Woods converted and further points might have been added if the home side’s passing had been better.

But with the impressive Barr back on the field, he took hold of the game with some good running and handling and was rewarded with two tries.

Further scores from Copperwaite and Scott, together with strong play from the division’s meanest defence, ended the contest.