THANKS TO JIM BROWN FOR REPORT AND PICS.
This hastily arranger friendly was the result of Rochdale Hornets inability to sort out their on pitch problems at Spotland with their partners FC. Batley who had a quite forgettable season last year have had two friendlys pre-season, against Gateshead winning 38 12 and Dewsbury in the Heavy woolen winning 52 0. The Cougars would have to not only improve on their performance last week against The Hornets but also prove to Coach Gary Moorby that they were ready to take on the Bulldogs and the infamous Batley slope.
It was obvious as the game kicked off that this fixture had not caught the imagination of either sets of spectators with a meager crowd of around 350, however regardless of the number on the terraces the Cougars were ready to perform and that they did.
Keighley were playing down the slope in the first half and looked very strong with Cleggs barnstorming runs and a lively half back pairing of Ashton & Mitchell running the show. However it wasnt until after 15 minutes that the first score came from Batleys Jamie Stokes. After swapping penalties and a superb last gasp tackle from James Rushworth, Batley raided up field and with a kick on the last tackle hitting the post it remained simple for Jamie Stokes to collect and dive over, the conversion coming from the ever green Barry Eaton. Again the game turned into an arm wrestle but again it was Batley who came away with the points as the referee began to impose himself on the game giving equal amounts of penalties Batley broke well from a tap penalty catching the Cougars cold to score with Shad Royston going over again converted by Eaton. It was a tough first half with both teams testing each other out. Both defenses were very solid and it was with no surprise that both teams had a player sent to the bin for a fracas in the scrum.
With the Cougars facing a literal uphill battle in the second half, it was great to see the lads working very hard to make hard yards. At no point did they trouble the scoreboard but that wasnt for lack of trying. If last weeks team had played today I would have gone home at half time. The second half performance was excellent. Massive runs from Richard Merville, superb acting half runs from Matty Firth were backed up by a huge defense.
It has to be said that Batley lost the plot in the second period, they were certainly not the same team and to the Cougars credit they exploited the space well. Firth and Ashton broke the line with clever runs and up n unders often catching Batley cold only for the final pass to astray. Harvey passed well, tackled well and generally looked dangerous, had it not been for a final forward pass to Matt Foster, they would have scored the try of the game.
With all the pressure coming from the Cougars it was obvious that Batley were to score next and on 73 minutes Dave Morgan crashed over after a sustained effort against the Cougar line, Eaton converting. Seven minutes later on the stroke of time Dyson scored for the Bulldogs after a great move across field stretching the Cougars out wide. With Eaton missing the conversion attempt the hooter closed the game and the Cougars being beaten 22 0.
If Gary Moorby was pleased with last weeks defensive display, he must have been doing cartwheels on todays effort. The Cougars worked very hard, kept their line well and ran strongly from deep. Richard Merville was in excellent form and Matty Firth had a great game. Although the Cougars came away pointless they can take away loads from this game. With Ashton, Firth and Harvey kicking well, backed by an intense defensive effort, the Cougars can look forward to Hull KR and the fourth coming league campaign.
The game even managed to keep Brian Noble interested for 70 minutes.
Batley 22 0 Cougars
whinger©
It was obvious as the game kicked off that this fixture had not caught the imagination of either sets of spectators with a meager crowd of around 350, however regardless of the number on the terraces the Cougars were ready to perform and that they did.
Keighley were playing down the slope in the first half and looked very strong with Cleggs barnstorming runs and a lively half back pairing of Ashton & Mitchell running the show. However it wasnt until after 15 minutes that the first score came from Batleys Jamie Stokes. After swapping penalties and a superb last gasp tackle from James Rushworth, Batley raided up field and with a kick on the last tackle hitting the post it remained simple for Jamie Stokes to collect and dive over, the conversion coming from the ever green Barry Eaton. Again the game turned into an arm wrestle but again it was Batley who came away with the points as the referee began to impose himself on the game giving equal amounts of penalties Batley broke well from a tap penalty catching the Cougars cold to score with Shad Royston going over again converted by Eaton. It was a tough first half with both teams testing each other out. Both defenses were very solid and it was with no surprise that both teams had a player sent to the bin for a fracas in the scrum.
With the Cougars facing a literal uphill battle in the second half, it was great to see the lads working very hard to make hard yards. At no point did they trouble the scoreboard but that wasnt for lack of trying. If last weeks team had played today I would have gone home at half time. The second half performance was excellent. Massive runs from Richard Merville, superb acting half runs from Matty Firth were backed up by a huge defense.
It has to be said that Batley lost the plot in the second period, they were certainly not the same team and to the Cougars credit they exploited the space well. Firth and Ashton broke the line with clever runs and up n unders often catching Batley cold only for the final pass to astray. Harvey passed well, tackled well and generally looked dangerous, had it not been for a final forward pass to Matt Foster, they would have scored the try of the game.
With all the pressure coming from the Cougars it was obvious that Batley were to score next and on 73 minutes Dave Morgan crashed over after a sustained effort against the Cougar line, Eaton converting. Seven minutes later on the stroke of time Dyson scored for the Bulldogs after a great move across field stretching the Cougars out wide. With Eaton missing the conversion attempt the hooter closed the game and the Cougars being beaten 22 0.
If Gary Moorby was pleased with last weeks defensive display, he must have been doing cartwheels on todays effort. The Cougars worked very hard, kept their line well and ran strongly from deep. Richard Merville was in excellent form and Matty Firth had a great game. Although the Cougars came away pointless they can take away loads from this game. With Ashton, Firth and Harvey kicking well, backed by an intense defensive effort, the Cougars can look forward to Hull KR and the fourth coming league campaign.
The game even managed to keep Brian Noble interested for 70 minutes.
Batley 22 0 Cougars
whinger©
