Luke Cowdell celebrates a fine try
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Yorkshire One, club Keighley sent a very strong second team, down to Chaffers field last Wednesday evening, for the semi final of the Aire Wharfe cup.

Keighley demonstrated their scrummaging prowess in the first minutes of the game, driving the home pack backwards and providing clean ball out to their pacy backs. Otliensians faced a barrage of attacks for the first 20 minutes of the game and rarely made it out of their half. Keighley’s powerful rugby league style incursions tested Ensians mettle time after time: the intakes of breath clearly audible from the side lines. Amazingly, Otliensians managed to repell the oppositions advances. Harry Wales, Sam Featherstone and the Gillson cousins, putting in some ‘crunching’ try saving tackles.

Much to the supporters relief, Otliensians opened the scoring, in one of their first forays into the oppositions half. With a penalty advantage, ‘ensians broke down the right wing with Ethan Heade. Passing back inside to Luke Cowdell, who in his usual, formidable style, burst through Keighley's three man defensive line to score. Inside centre, Jake Bentley converted, to take the first two points of his personal seventeen point tally.

Keighley kept up the pressure, but just couldn’t complete the final stages of their attack; be it from ‘ensians super defence, or simple mistakes. With their very flat, ‘league' style back line, they were plagued with forward passes and off side penalties.

Mid way through the half, Bentley increased Ensians lead to 10 points with a successful penalty kick.

Otliensians scored another superb try in the latter stages of the half. With an excellent pick up at the back of the scrum, forward Jay Walsh, opened his gait, and galloped towards the try line. With surprising dexterity, Walsh gave a back pass inside to Cowdell supporting. In a repeat of the first try, Cowdell burst through and Bentley converted.

The home supporters were a little astonished, at being 17 points in front at the half way mark.

Keighley, not willing to let apathy creep in, put the deficit to one side, and piled on the pressure again at the start of the second half, and scored two tries in quick succession. With only one try converted, the score an uncomfortable 17:12

For the next 15 minutes the game was fought out with the smallest of margins, each side knowing the next score would be pivotal. Both sides added a further 3 points each with penalty kicks, keeping the 5 point margin intact.

Centre, Jake Bentley excelled in the final minutes of the game sealing the victory with an excellent individual try. With only 4 minutes left to play and still with only a 5 point lead, Ensians faced a break down the left wing from Keighley. Lewis Platt made an excellent tackle and doggedly won the ball back to feed Bentley. Still with 30m to go, Bentley wrong footed 3 men, to carve out a path to the try line. The following conversion, secured an excellent win for Otliensians, at 27 points to 15.

- On the same night Ilkley 2’s defeated Yarmbury 2’s by 60 points, securing their place in the final to take place on Wednesday 3rd May at Otliensians. KO 6:30pm Entry £3.

Ben Ritson