Sunday 15th October 2001
Womens' Premier Division
CASTLEFORD PANTHERS  18  KEIGHLEY ALBION CATS  30

Keighley Albion Cats returned to winning ways with a victory at old rivals Castleford Panthers. Although the scoreline reflects the Cats superiority they at times made hard work of beating a team that they dominated in all aspects of play.

Keighley began the match boosted by the return of forwards Sarah Walsh and Jodie Billing and their influence was soon felt as the Cats put pressure on the Castleford line. However after a twice going close the ball ran dead behind the Panthers posts.

From the 20 metre restart the Panthers second row burst through the defence line and somewhat surprisingly galloped the length of the field to score under the posts. The conversion was added and totally against the run of play Keighley were 6 points to nil down.

It took some time for Keighley to recover their composure but with Laura Ackroyd orchestrating the attacks gaps began to appear in the Castleford defence. Eventually the pressure told and Ackroyd herself opened Keighley’s account. The conversion attempt drifted wide but Albion were back in the game.

Unfortunately in what was to become a feature of Keighley’s first half performance they lost the ball from the restart and Castleford scored an unconverted try. Back came Keighley and Ackroyd again scored a fine solo try which she then converted to tie the scores. However more slipshod work allowed Panthers to breach the Keighley first line of defence and the referee penalised Keighley for a dubious infringement. Whilst the Cats were debating the merits of the decision Panthers took a quick tap and scored a try near the posts, although the conversion was missed.

At this stage Keighley were their own worst enemies and were squandering both possession  and chances, Sarah Gatenby racing in for a thrilling “score” and then being penalised for failing to ground the ball properly being a typical example. However as the half came to a close Keighley finally began to play more like themselves and a flowing move ended with Sarah Cartwright scoring a typical try. The conversion was missed but at the halftime whistle the Cats were back in the game at 14 all.

The halftime talk only needed to be brief, the team knew where they had been going wrong and they went out determined to put matters right. Almost from the restart Alex Knight and Gemma Liddon drove deep into Castleford territory and Sarah Gatenby was on hand to touch down, Ackroyd converting, and the Cats were ahead for the first time.

A succession of penalties in Castleford’s favour kept the pressure on Keighley but fullback Jodee Loader, who was having a fine match, kept the defence intact. The Panthers began to tire as the game wore on and Keighley attacked almost incessantly but were still being penalised by the referee for infringements only he seemed to see. Keighley though, were not to be denied, and Laura Ackroyd completed a fine hat trick, Sarah Cartwright scored a superb individual try and the game was won.

There was still time for Castleford to score a late try but the Cats had totally dominated the second half and this victory helps consolidate their top three league position. Jodee Loader took the player of the match award with good support from Louise Clark. This Sunday the Cats entertain high flying Wakefield in the Challenge Cup round robin stage.
Andy MacDonald

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