Barnsley 14, Keighley 22

KEIGHLEY made hard work of subduing a big, well-organised Barnsley team after a blistering start but did enough to move five points clear in second place in Yorkshire Division Two.

The Rose Cottagers' first outing of the new year saw them claim their 12th league win on the trot, while third-placed Roundhegians slipped up 27-8 at Wath-upon-Dearne.

Within minutes, Keighley were on the scoreboard as early possession and skilled interplay between forwards and backs gave winger Liam Everett the chance to cross in the corner, Alex Brown adding the difficult conversion.

The rest of the half was very much a stalemate, although both teams were committed to moving the ball around.

Keighley were on top territorially but were unable to break down a determined defence and their only reward was a penalty from Brown.

As the half-time whistle approached, Barnsley used their big forwards to drive play deep into Keighley territory and their efforts bore fruit with a well-taken try by winger Marlon Wragg, converted by centre Greg Colbridge.

In the second half, both teams were guilty of trying too hard, which resulted in mistakes and possession wasted through poor kicking.

Eventually Keighley managed to put some phases together and excellent linking between big forwards Sam Booker and Josh Hannah created space for winger Everett to score his second try, Brown again adding the extras.

A driving maul from a line-out then forced the Barnsley defence onto the back foot before crisp passing along the backs created a try for winger Jack Atkinson.

At the death, and with the knowledge that the game was won, Keighley forced a line-out on the opposition five-metre line.

An awful throw was picked off by a surprised Barnsley player and, with nothing to lose, they moved the ball quickly through hands, allowing Chris Peel to claim a well-deserved try in the corner, Colbridge landing the difficult conversion.