By Ian Golden
April 29 2007
Match review from the Crusaders game in the Co-operative National League Two in which the Celtic Crusaders won 62 - 12 against Keighley Cougars at Cougar Park.
KEIGHLEY COUGARS 12 CELTIC CRUSADERS 62
By Ian Golden - http://www.crusadersrl.com
Celtic Crusaders made it three wins out of three at Cougar Park on Sunday when they produced a dynamic second half performance, easing to a 62-12 win over Keighley Cougars.
In a match that celebrated the centenary of the first ever away trip by a Welsh Rugby League club when Keighley beat Ebbw Vale 26-3 in 1907, the tables were turned on this occasion but it was the Cougars’ lone Welshman, player-coach Barry Eaton who made life difficult for the Crusaders in the first half. It was just a late flurry from the Welsh side that gave them a healthy lead at the interval – one that they were never going to surrender.
Keighley took the lead on four minutes. Matt Foster did well to intercept a pass on his own 20 metre line and ran 70 metres before being superbly tackled by Craig Richards. Mick Foggerty was stopped near to the line from the next play but Karl Smith barged over from the play-the-ball. Eaton, who rarely misses a conversion, made no mistake with the extras.
They thought they had a second just three minutes later after Craig Fawcett fed Wayne Sutcliffe but the back row forward was held up over the line.
Crusaders levelled things on the quarter hour. Jace Van Dijk opened up a space for Darren Mapp who ran under the sticks unchallenged. Damien Quinn converted.
But Keighley took the lead again five minutes later. Eaton kicked one of his specialist 40-20s and from the resulting set Chris Redfearn forced his way over with Eaton converting.
Following a fight which left both sides with 12 men for 10 minutes after Chris Beasley and Brandon Rawlings were both sinbinned, the Crusaders levelled things again on 28 minutes when Dean Fitzgerald ran in and Quinn kicked the extras.
And the Crusaders went into half-time with a 24-12 advantage with tries from two players who are both competing to become the league’s top try scorer.
Richards made a textbook speedy run down the wing to score on 33 minutes giving the Crusaders the lead for the first time while Tony Duggan finished off a fine move by scoring under the sticks just before the hooter. Quinn converted both.
The second half was virtually one way traffic as the Crusaders’ quality and fitness showed.
They extended their lead two minutes after the interval when Richard Johnston scored in the corner while Duggan added his second of the game five minutes later after easing his way through the gaps in the Cougars defence.
Rob Toshack brushed off four of the Cougars backline to fight his way through for the Crusaders’ seventh try on 53 minutes while Paul Ballard ran in for an eighth six minutes later. Quinn added the extras on both occasions.
Crusaders brought up 50 points with six minutes remaining after Toshack finished off a fine passing move. He completed his hat-trick three minutes later and Neil Budworth had the final say with a try in the last minute. Quinn converted all three to consolidate the Crusaders’ position at the top of the league.
Crusaders’ coach John Dixon was once again happy with his team’s performance but knew that they had to work hard for their lead.
“The first 20 or 30 minutes was a real contest here with both sides playing good footy,” said Dixon. “But just on the tail of the second half we scored a couple of length of the field tries. That gave us a 12-point lead at half-time and possibly put a dampener on the Keighley effort on the next 40 minutes. Also, there’s a definite slope in the ground here and we took good advantage of that in the second half and got some real rewards.”
Cougars: Gavin Duffy, Gareth Holmes, Matt Foster, Mick Foggerty, Karl Smith, Craig Fawcett, Barry Eaton, Simon Bissell, James Feather, Tom Palmer, Brian Sutton, Wayne Sutcliffe, Chris Redfearn. Subs: Adam Mitchell, Jason Dubas-Fisher, Brendan Rawlins, Luke Sutton.
Tries: Smith (4), Redfearn (20)
Goals: Eaton 2/2
Crusaders: Tony Duggan, Richard Johnston, Anthony Blackwood, Mark Dalle Cort, Craig Richards, Damien Quinn, Jace Van Dijk, Darren Mapp, Neil Budworth, Jamie I’Anson, Terry Martin, Chris Beasley, Rob Toshack. Subs: Paul Ballard, Dean Fitzgerald, Andy Boothroyd, Hywel Davies.
Tries: Mapp (15), Fitzgerald (28), Richards (33), Duggan (40, 47), Johnston (42), Toshack (53, 74, 77), Ballard (59), Budworth (80)
Goals: Quinn 9/11
Half-time: 12-24
Attendance: 672
Referee: Craig Halloran (Dewsbury)
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