Well below par performance

Heath Firsts travelled to Keighley on Saturday looking to extend their unbeaten start to the league season. Unfortunately, they came up against more determined and coordinated opponents who stuck well to a simple game plan, defended resolutely and ultimately proved worthy winners by 21-8. Heath were bolstered by the return of flanker Dave MONTGOMERY to the back row but were forced into a late reshuffle in the back line when Jarrod MORRIS withdrew, his place at centre being filled by Si BROWN with Cameron RAMSDEN coming in at fullback. Keighley kicked off, playing away from the clubhouse, on a fine, sunny day and the early exchanges set the tone for the whole of the game. Keighley drove well in the forwards before releasing their burly no13 who regularly made ground in centre field. Heath produced good forward drives of their own with Ian DOWNSBOROUGH, James WATSON and MONTGOMERY to the fore. However, the Heath contact skills were poor and the ball was regularly spilled or turned over. When Heath did move the ball wide, the play was much too lateral and lacked a decisive cutting edge. To compound these problems, Heath gave away far too many penalties. Keighley were the first to score when Heath were penalised for holding on at a ruck. The Keighley no10 duly converted. Charlie LOMAS replied for Heath after 15mins when Keighley were caught offside following a good break in midfield by Martin MOANA. Heath 3 – Keighley 3. There then followed Heath’s first sustained period of pressure, but they were still unable to break the strong Keighley defence. Keighley returned to the attack and drove to the Heath line through the forwards. Heath held out against a succession of drives but the ball was slipped back to the no 10 for an easy drop goal. In the second quarter, neither side could gain a clear advantage. On one occasion when Heath did manage to move the ball through the backs, a half chance was created for Matthew BAXENDALE only for the winger to put a foot in touch. After 35 mins, Heath were caught in possession at the back of a scrum, and penalised for not releasing the ball. The Keighley no 10 easily kicked the goal from 22 metres out, making the score Keighley 9 - Heath 3. Just before half time, Heath applied great pressure to a scrum in the Keighley half. The attempted clearance kick was superbly charged down by DOWNSBOROUGH. MONTGOMERY scooped up the loose ball only to be held inches short of the line, DOWNSBOROUGH followed up to collect the ball and go over for the try. The attempted conversion from Charlie LOMAS hit the post. Half time score Keighley 9 – Heath 8. Centre Martin WHITE left the field at half time having been unable to shake off an injury he received whilst bravely fielding a Keighley kick, late in the first half. He was replaced by Oliver COLLINGE. Heath immediately handed the initiative to Keighley by being in front of the kicker at the restart. From this, Keighley applied more pressure on the Heath defence. Heath conceded another scrum penalty from which Keighley took a quick tap and surged towards the line. The Heath close defence held out against more forward drives but then the ball was moved wider and the Keighley no 10 squeezed over the line for a try. The conversion was missed. Keighley 14 – Heath 8 after 45 mins. Keighley’s confidence grew and their powerful no13 made several runs into the heart of the Heath defence. Heath made several attacks of their own, mainly through the forwards but were unable to break the Keighley defence. Poor passing, weak ball control and taking the wrong option all added to Heath’s frustrations. Keighley were definitely having the better of the second half. On 55 mins the Keighley no 4 was sin binned after the team committed one too many ruck infringements. Unfortunately, Heath were unable to exploit the numerical advantage. Even another fine midfield break by MOANA came to nothing as play drifted too wide and into touch. DOWNSBOROUGH was sin binned after an hour, again for the team conceding too many penalties at the breakdown. Heath continued to press for a try with MOANA being the focus. Keighley had obviously done their homework as he was heavily marked. Both players, in turn, came back out of the sin bin with no addition the score. Keighley were on top in the final quarter with the majority of territory and possession. Their back line was starting gel behind the no13. More pressure brought a penalty inside the Heath 22, that was moved even closer to the line following some back-chat. Keighley tapped and again the no13 made good ground forward. After a couple of quick rucks right on the Heath line, the ball was moved out to the Keighley no12 who wrong footed the Heath defenders to score under the posts. The no10 added the conversion. Keighley 21 – Heath 8. This was the final score of the game although Heath were hanging on the in final 5 mins as Keighley pressed for yet another score. At one point the Keighley right wing broke through 5 ineffectual Heath tackles before he was finally brought down. Keighley finished the game on attack as the referee called full time. Final score Keighley 21 – Heath 8. All in all, a very disappointing afternoon for Heathen players and supporters alike. Ian DONWSBOROUGH was at the heart of the few things that Heath did well and was influential in the lineout. He was rightly awarded the Heath man of the match. Ian was pushed close for that award by WATTO who carried the ball well all game. Martin MOANA again looked a different class at centre, but after that there was very little of note on offer from Heath. Keighley are far from the strongest team in this league and this was a game that Heath ought to have been able to win. There will need to be some rethinking before Ilkley visit West Vale next Saturday.