Presley tries leave Town all shook up
Last updated 13:34, Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Workington Town 6 Keighley 18: Two second-half Jon Presley tries saw Town check in to Heartbreak Hotel as they failed to build on last week’s win over unbeaten Doncaster.
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It was always going to be a tough ask to topple a useful Keighley side, who returned to the top of NL2 following yesterday’s success.
But a repeat of the performance that swept aside the Dons would have been good enough to take the three league points on offer.
The big difference yesterday was the absence of hooker Shaun Lunt, whose fantastic dummy-half running and dynamic defence did so much to destroy Doncaster.
Lunt missed out with an ankle injury, and boss Dave Rotheram will be hoping his absence is short-lived. He is badly-needed to add the verve they lacked at Derwent Park yesterday.
Town enjoyed their share of possession, and to lose by three tries to one against arguably the division’s top side, was not a bad effort.
But in a dour match, gilt-edged chances were rare, with Workington posing too little threat in Keighley’s final quarter.
In sub Jermaine Wray, the visitors had the game’s outstanding talent, the only player on the pitch who posed a constant menace with ball in hand.
Carl Forber did his best for Town, but he shouldered too much of the creative burden.
Town were able to get on the front foot early against Doncaster. That was not the case yesterday, with the hosts defending three consecutive sets early on.
Fans had to wait 16 minutes for their side's first meaningful attack, coming on the back of Taani Lavulavu’s break, but Forber’s attacking kick was mopped up by full-back Danny Jones.
Three minutes later, Keighley hit the front. Second-row Chris Young missed a tackle in front of his sticks and Jones touched down. He then added the extras for good measure.
A mix up between Mark McCully and winger Martyn Wilson then almost proved costly as Keighley launched an innocuous attacking kick.
The full-back eventually forced the ball dead and on the next set, hooker James Feather was held up over the Town line.
Wray was proving a thorn in Town’s side with ball in hand, and on 33 minutes he also showed his ability with the boot.
Stephen Dawes spilled the kick on his 10-metre line, and the Town winger took exception to second-row Wayne Sutcliffe’s follow-up.
The two exchanged blows and ref Jamie Leahy gave both 10 minutes in the sin bin to cool down.
Moments later, Wilson had to helped from the field with an ankle injury.
Workington were caught cold in the second-half’s opening exchanges. A penalty awarded for a high tackle on hard-working prop Andy Shickell handed the visitors an attacking position.
And second-row Greg Nicholson forced out a pass in the tackle for Presley to score. It was the type of lapse in defence that Town had been cutting down on of late.
Jones slotted the extras, though Town then moved up a gear as they strived to reduce the deficit.
McCully was held fractionally short of the line, and Dawes then intercepted to set up a useful attack, but there was no way through a Keighley defence that tightened after shipping 40 points in defeat at York last week.
The hammer blow came on 68 minutes. Wray took charge and cut loose in midfield, finding Presley for the stand-off’s second try, Jones adding his third conversion.
Town kept up the chase for a bonus point, going close when McCully spilled the ball under pressure as he crossed the Cougars’ line, following good work from Forber.
The breakthrough came two minutes from time, Matthew Tunstall collecting a return pass from his side’s best forward on the day, Dean Burgess, to crash over between the sticks.
Forber’s conversion was a formality and Town claimed the bonus point their effort just about deserved.
After their heroics against Doncaster, however, many fans trooped away at the close feeling their team could have done so much better.
Match Facts
Town: McCully, Dawes, Routledge, Mossop, Wilson, Forber, Duffy, Benjafield, S Burgess, D Burgess, Young, Miller, Smith. Subs: Marsh, Tunstall, Campbell, Lavulavu
Try: Tunstall; Goal: Forber
Cougars: Jones, R Smith, Purseglove, Potter, Gardner, Presley, Fawcett, Shickell, Feather, Bissell, Nicholson, Sutcliffe, Redfearn. Subs: Wray, C Smith, Rawlins, Norcross
Tries: Jones, Presley 2; Goals: Jones 3
Attendance: 718
Referee: Jamie Leahy
Star Man: Dean Burgess
