BRADFORD Salem moved above Keighley and into 10th in Yorkshire One, following an impressive and hard-fought 22-9 victory over Old Crossleyans in extremely testing conditions at Shay Lane.

Salem fly-half Matt Booth and visiting scrum half Joe Gallagher both missed penalties in the opening 10 minutes.

With 15 minutes on the clock, Gallagher was on target to give the away side a 3-0 lead, but, moments later, Booth replied to level matters at 3-3.

Two more Gallagher penalties gave Crossleyans a 9-3 advantage. However, with 35 minutes played, Salem hit back.

Skipper and No 8 Christian Baines drove over from close range and Booth added the conversion to give the hosts a slender 10-9 lead at the break.

Within a minute of the restart, Salem suffered a blow as Baines was sent to the sin-bin for a high shot.

However, despite being a man down, Salem seemed to cope better with the deteriorating conditions and Crossleyans found themselves having to defend in their own half.

Around 20 minutes into the second half, Baines made amends for his previous misdemeanour as he powered his way over the line for his second try.

Booth improved that to put the Bradford side 17-9 ahead.

At this stage, there was really only one winner and more Salem pressure enabled Baines to score his third try from an unstoppable driving maul to seal victory.

It was an important win for the hosts, who went some way towards easing any lingering relegation fears.

The victory saw them on to 27 points, moving them 10 clear of second-bottom Pontefract, who lost an attritional home game with Leodiensian 12-0.

Salem face a tough test in their next encounter. They visit high-flying Goole, who have won eight of their opening 12 league games, on January 4.