Dinnington 29

Keighley 0

DINNINGTON away is one of the most difficult in Yorkshire Division One.

Keighley started the game playing down the slope.

From the outset the Dinnington game plan was on display, well supported big men driving down the middle, forcing Keighley to defend.

Early possession and field position put Keighley under pressure.

Eventually they broke out with good work from centres Sean Kelly and Matty Langstaff and good positional kicking from outside-half Grayson Tihema.

With their scrum and lineout in good order they took the game to the opposition and for extended periods of time were camped in Dinnington territory.

The only reward for their efforts was a penalty that went wide.

Dinnington, through a series of penalties, forced play back upfield.

A Keighley yellow card for a dangerous tackle in the back line gave Dinnington an advantage that they utilised to the full.

A blindside switch from broken play led to a two on one situation and a try for their second row forward.

The Dinnington pressure through the forwards was maintained; hard, well supported driving play from a lineout fractured the Keighley defence and a try for the hooker Ryan Corker.

Although Keighley worked hard to respond they were often on the wrong side of the talkative official which led to a series of penalties and subsequent loss of field position.

Once again a lineout was driven up the middle the defence was forced to narrow and a well-taken try by the Dinnington centre, converted by outside-half Connor Brown.

The second half was always going to be difficult for Keighley, 17 points down playing up hill against a much bigger pack.

So it proved, some astute kicking and the well tried option of forward driving play was hard to contain.

However, Keighley showed a great deal of character and determination, everyone tackled their hearts out and kept Dinnington out for extended periods.

A series of scrums tired the Keighley pack and they were forced backward for a pushover try, Brown kicked the easy conversion.

Towards the end of the game a driven lineout and short ball forward pressure gave stand-out forward, number eight Dean McCauley, a well-deserved score.

Although well beaten, Keighley were better than the previous week, the possession was quicker and there were less handling errors.

This Saturday brings another difficult home fixture for Keighley against near neighbours Old Crossleyans.