Match Report - Keighley (A)

Luke Hooley kicked the game off with the ball landing straight into the hands of the opposition, followed by a quick knock on from Keighley and possession coming straight back to the Tigers. 

The game went off to a strong start but some stops in play due to a couple of successive penalties for the Cougars gave Castleford a few chances to get over the line with attempts from Josh Hodson & Paul McShane, unfortunately both held up on the line.

Success followed with a debut try from Josh Simm after 5 minutes, taking the Tigers 4-0 up, as Hooley missed the conversion from the edge of the field. 

Another penalty for Keighley for interfering with the play of the ball put Cas on the front foot and the Tigers got to the half way line as their set comes to an end.

Charbel Tasipale was the next to score 8 minutes in and Hooley gets his first conversation of the day, taking the Tigers 10-0 ahead.

A penalty then goes against the fords for being offside but when Cas get possession again, they drive hard making good progress up the field with a short kick from Hodson but it’s quickly jumped on by the opposition. 

13 minutes into the game and Alex Mellor is taken down with an injury and Keighley receive a penalty, Luis Johnson jumped in to replace Mellor. 

In a strong run, Tasipale made a dive for the line but is held up by Keighley’s defence. 

Keighley had the ball in hand for the first time in the game and managed to get within sight of the Tigers tryline but fail to get close enough to get the ball down, followed by a kick in touch. 

As Cas get the ball back, Tasipale makes a break but is soon stopped in his tracks, after a couple more drives, a small kick sees the ball go dead with possession back to the Cougars.

Another penalty given to the Tigers after Hodson collects the ball in an offside position but this doesn’t faze the Tigers as they continued to tackle hard to keep the Cougars at bay.  

We then saw Jake Webster make his first try attempt, being held up by the Tigers followed by a bid for the line by Ione but once again held up by the Fords defence. 

The Tigers remained strong in a good stint from Keighley but Castleford refusing to give in and successfully keeping the Cougars out.

Castleford got possession back with a fantastic jumping take from all 6ft8 of the Fords new winger Innes Senior.

Keighley go on the attack with a good run from the man himself Jake Webster and the ball eventually ends up with Junior Sa’u but once again he was held up by the Tigers strong defence. A kick out wide by Keighley sees the ball go into touch and possession given back to the Fords.

Liam Watts’ first touch of the ball was a strong hard drive, gaining some good distance but the set soon comes to an end with a kick to corner, caught successfully by Charlie Graham.

The Fords get possession back and in the 29th minute Innes Senior reaches for the line on the wing and steadily placed the ball down, taking Castleford 14-0 ahead. 

A few interchanges then took  place with Sam Hall, George Griffin and Liam Horne setting to the field for the first time in 2024.

Castleford kick the ball in touch on the 20-metre line with a turnover to Keighley for their last chance to get on the scoreboard as the first half ends. A quick play of the ball from Keighley sees them make some yards but fail to gain any points as they can’t get over line. 

Jake Webster is still on the field as the claxon goes for half time and the Fords are 14-0 ahead. 

The Tigers came back out fighting and strong into the second half at Cougar Park but it’s Keighley who get the first chance as Charlie Graham makes a break but was soon stopped in his tracks by a keen Castleford defence once again.

Castleford were back on the attack with a hard and strong drive from Liam Watts and the set came to an end with a high kick from Hooley, which was met with a Keighley knock on.

Castleford back in possession and a kick from Luke Hooley lands in the safe hands of Josh Hodson and is delivered to ground with ease, taking the Tigers 18-0 in front, Luke Hooley converts.

We see some last hard drives from Jake Webster before he was brought off the field after an impressive 48 minutes of play and the crowd get on their feet to cheer him to the side line. 

Cas doing some chopping & changing direction and running it wide before heading back into the centre for another 4 points, grounded by Jacob Miller for his first try of 2024 with a conversion from Luke Hooley to follow.

57 minutes had passed  and the tries keep rolling in with a nice finish from Liam Horne just to the side of the sticks, making Luke Hooley’s job nice and easy, and of course, he gets the job done and converts, taking the Tigers to 32-0.

Keighley get the chance to attack but don’t quite make it over the line and a turnover to the Tigers sees Castleford progress down the pitch once again.

The late afternoon sun makes an appearance over Cougar Park, giving some advantage to the Cougars as the Tigers start to shield their eyes but this doesn’t seem to phase them as they go on the attack again and Luis Johnson gets the ball down with another easy position for Hooley to convert.

A quick try from Josh Hodson with his second of the day, Hooley converts.

A long kick from Hooley under the sticks making hard work for Keighley giving them a chase but Keighley are penalised for not playing the ball properly, which gave Castleford possession back again.

Our boy Jason Qareqare then steams down the wing in his usual style and touches the ball down, Hooley converts taking the fords 48-0 ahead. 

Castleford continued to dominate with a hard carry by PNG star Nixon Putt.

Keighley gain the ball back as they made an attempt to get into the Tigers half to secure some points on the scoreboard, only just making it into the Tigers half before the ball is taken from them by Tigers captain Paul McShane. 

Castleford go on the attack again and steam back and over the tryline with a great offload from Nixon Putt to Innes Senior as he takes his 2nd try of the game to make it 54-0

Keighley make one last bid for the line in the 79th minutes as Jake Webster makes one last attempt to get a score on the board but is denied by a strong Castleford defence. 

The final scoreline for the Tigers’ first run out of 2024 is a huge 54-0!

Full-time:  Keighley Cougars 0 – Castleford Tigers 54

Keighley Cougars: Pickersgill, Graham, Webster, Sa’u, Walkley, Thomas, Miller, Maher, Kesik, Ioane, Robson, Lynam, Parker

Interchanges: Stead, Hatton, Lambourne, Lanskey, Dean 

Castleford Tigers: Hooley, Simm, Broadbent, Hodson, Senior, Milnes, Miller, Mustapha, McShane, Lawler, Tasipale, Mellor, Westerman

Interchanges: Johnson, Qareqare, Nixon, Griffin, Watts, Hall, Putt

Tries: Simm, Tasipale, Senior (2), Hodson (2), Miller, Horne, Qareqare

Goals: Hooley (7)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------