KEIGHLEY pulled off a well-earned 27-8 home victory over Dinnington in atrocious weather conditions.

The visitors were quickest out of the blocks though. A charge down kick almost led to a try for scrum half Cory Differ, with only some last ditch defending saving the day.

Both teams attempted to play good rugby, despite the conditions. Keighley were intent on moving the ball around, away from the opposition's big forwards, while Dinnington relied on their solid pack.

After 20 minutes, a defensive Dinnington lineout on their five metre line was overthrown, straight into the hands of a surprised Sean Minikin, who scored with ease.

Dinnington worked their way back into the game, using the forwards to drive the ball up. The Keighley defence was superb and the midfield was dominated by strong centres, Horsfall and Kelly, who stifled numerous attacks.

This allowed the back row to scrap for the ball and nullify quick possession, while Alex Brown at outside half played the conditions well, kicking long to gain territory.

From a loose maul and a series of short passes, second row Luke Carter drove his way over between the posts, with the try converted by Brown.

Soon after, some excellent handling skills and a dummy runner in midfield narrowed the defence and gave full back Jake Duxbury space to score out wide.

Dinnington were shocked into action but despite making inroads into the defence, the only reward for their efforts was a penalty, well struck by Jonny West.

In the second half, Dinnington brought substitute Will Marshall into the pack. His arrival and ability to make the hard yards, well-supported by the pack, forced Keighley into long periods of defence.

Forward pressure at the scrum and a drive gave Marshall a well-deserved try. Although Keighley had the better of the first half, Dinnington dominated the second period.

Their forwards gained a plentiful supply of good possession, but Keighley's defensive line speed and first up tackling was outstanding.

In an attempt to break up the play, Dinnington tried the aerial route, only to find that the Keighley back three were sound under the high ball and quite content to run the ball back at them.

One such counter attack led to a penalty out wide for Alex Brown, and given the angle and weather conditions, he did well to gain the three points.

Dinnington, with time running out, never gave up. Keighley began to tire and as a result, conceded a lot of penalties which gave the opposition good field position. However, try as they might, the visitors were unable to breach the defence.

At the death, a penalty in the Dinnington 22 metre area was quickly taken by scrum half Leon Hobson-Sheriff. A quick few passes later and winger Alan Ebbrell was through what was left of the defence to score a bonus point try, converted by Brown.

It was a thoroughly deserved bonus point win for the Keighley players, who were quite outstanding on the day.