Ilkley 22 Keighley 26 - In recent years Stacks Field, Ilkley has witnessed some tense meetings between the two sides and Saturday's encounter proved to be no exception.

Recent form pointed to a Keighley win, which was duly achieved but not without some worrying moments.

Although they were never behind, they were never able to relax as Ilkley several times clawed themselves back into contention.

The thrust of the home side's endeavours came from their uncompromising pack, in which hooker Stuart Nesbitt and the second row pairing of Andrew Pell and Matthew Newberry never allowed Keighley to dominate.

Keighley took the lead after 15 minutes of stalemate with the sweetest of tries. A perfectly executed reverse pass between the Harrison brothers opened up the Ilkley defence and scrum half Scott Amos popped up on the outside of some snappy handling for a well taken try, converted by Johnny Harrison.

Ilkley's response was quick and decisive. A sharp break by stand off Nick Bell led to a ruck close to Keighley's line, from which Andrew Pell picked up and forced his way over with Sean Gilbert converting.

The seesaw pattern continued when almost from the re-start Johnny Harrison latched onto an interception deep in the Keighley half before surprising himself and not a few others with a 60-metre dash to the line.

Shortly afterwards good work by centre Nigel Curr and Scott Amos set up a line out five metres from the Ilkley line and No.8 Peter Schofield touched down following a well controlled rolling maul, with Harrison converting.

With a 12-point lead Keighley looked to be heading for the comfort zone, but Ilkley had other ideas. A hack on from the half way line caught Keighley out of position and wingman Brendan Kelly won the chase to the touchdown. Before half time Keighley's lead was reduced to two points when they were unable to defend a powerful maul from a five metre line out and Nesbitt secured the try.

The loss of full back Carl Smith with a ham string injury early in the second half severely reduced Keighley's attacking options, but they increased their tenuous lead when Schofield was again on hand to touch down from another rolling maul to the line. Johnny Harrison's conversion restored a nine point lead.

Urged on by their vocal supporters, Ilkley still clung to the hope of victory, and with Keighley prop Paul Sinfield temporarily off the field with an ankle injury, this became a distinct possibility when Nesbitt forced his way over from close range for his second try.

With only a single score separating the sides, the result was in balance, but Ilkley's cause was handicapped when the abrasive Newberry was dismissed to the sin bin after repeated warnings from the referee. Keighley's forwards continued to compete well, with Andy Bennett and Lee Gordon prominent in attack and defence. A smart break by Martin Harrison briefly eased the tension in the Keighley ranks, but a penalty goal miss by Johnny Harrison once more heightened the drama. A line out take by Bennett from an Ilkley throw-in saw off the final threat, with Johnny Harrison clearing the ball to half way and Keighley regrouped to snuff out any further chance of an Ilkley score.

On balance Keighley deserved the points, which hoist them into third place in the league. Coach Tim Brunskill will, however, need to get a few messages across if the recent successful run is to continue.