Wheatley Hills 9, Crusaders 0 - After putting paid to any lingering hopes of promotion by Pontefract in their previous league game, a rejuvenated Crusaders came close to toppling the ambitions of second placed Wheatley Hills in a close game at Doncaster.

In spite of the absence of a handful of first choice players, including both halfbacks, Keighley played with great enthusiasm. They had much the better of the first half without again scoring any points, and when the chips were down in a tense final 20 minutes, defended stalwartly to deny the Home side any tries.

The result was decided by the accurate boot of Wheatley Hills stand off Mark Hardcastle, who added two second half penalty goals to his earlier twelfth minute effort.

It was always a close game, with defences generally on top and open running rugby at a premium. The Keighley back row of Mark Lister, Andrew Bennett and Lee Gordon snuffed out the threat of the powerful Home flankers with Gordon in particular always at the heart of the action.

In the backs, stand off Matt Gaffney and centre Tony Fella put in some crunching tackles to halt the danger of the lively Wheatley Hills mid field runners, and similarly the problings of Keighley full back Warren Knowles and the straight hard running of Tony Fella foundered against a resilient defence.

The best passage of play came from a storming surge by Keighley involving forwards Southgate, Lister and Gordon, and carried on by scrum half James Kubran mid way through the second half but the danger was cleared and from then on Keighley were very much on the back foot. They survived a number of close calls as the powerful Home pack drove for the line from a series of scrums and mauls.

An injury to prop Paul Sinfield provided another hurdle to overcome, especially since his replacement John Duffy was forced harshly to spend 10 of his potential 20 minutes of play in the sin bin for handling in a ruck. It was one of the few indiscretions of the youthful referee James Fisher who otherwise controlled affairs with a maturity beyond his tender years.

On balance, Wheatley Hills just about deserved their success, but the game provided further evidence that Crusaders are close to a revival. If they are able to select their strongest side they are capable of upsetting undefeated Cleckheaton in their Home fixture on Saturday.