Bradford Salem started this match in a manner which belied their lowly league position and Beverley were put under extreme pressure for the opening 10 minutes.
Bradford’s forwards were swarming all over them, albeit usually from suspiciously looking offside positions, and they were unable to escape from their own 22 and hold onto the ball for long.
Beverley RUFC kicked off on a wet and blustery afternoon at Beaver Park to start this Yorkshire Division 1 fixture, and immediately mounted an assault on the Keighley line.
But, largely due to determined defence by Keighley, were unable to capitalise on their possession of the ball in the early exchanges. In fact during this early period Keighley were unable to hang on to the ball for long enough to get out of their own half.
Pray let it be a long time before we endure another afternoon like this. This was a truly awful game.
There was plenty of huffing and puffing and it was all played in a good spirit but the quality hardly ever rose above the mediocre. What little constructive rugby there was came from Hullensians who fully deserved their comfortable victory.
This was a great performance by a Beverley side heavily outweighed by their much bigger opponents who badly needed a win to maintain their challenge to make the playoff for promotion to North 1.
Phil Duboulay opened the scoring for the Beavers with a penalty after 10 minutes and after 17 minutes Beverley went further ahead with a smart try from Luke Hazell which Phil Duboulay duly converted to make it 10-0 to the home side.
A helter-skelter of a match. Beverley deservedly won in the end but they had to withstand a terrific late Scarborough onslaught during which the two sides between them scored 31 points in the last 25 minutes.
Beverley led 25-6 going into the final quarter and looked to have the game comfortably in the bag. They had been the better side throughout and were playing by far the more controlled rugby. They could scarcely have anticipated the rumbustious ending to come.
A damp murky West Yorkshire afternoon and not one that Beverley will particularly want to remember.
In the heavy underfoot conditions they could never quite come to terms with the big Heath pack and in the end could have no complaint at the final outcome. They did have their moments particularly in the first half and on a firmer surface it could all have been very different.
Beverley RUFC will be looking to make it four wins in a row when they entertain Keighley at Beaver Park in the 2.15PM kick off.
The Beavers go into the Norther Division clash in good form that saw them end 2016 with a run of three wins.
This was a poor match. Very scrappy with Beverley RUFC looking strangely under par, particularly following their excellent showing last week in the defeat of Bradford Salem.
Their passing was way below their normal standard and the intended receiver was invariably scrabbling about at their boots or stretching way above their heads.
A cracking game between two well-matched sides and a cracking Beverley RUFC performance.
Salem are a different proposition from the team that struggled earlier in the season and the young Beverley side would have expected a tough afternoon here. That they romped home in such fine style owed much to a composed team effort and a fearless attacking game.
Beverley RUFC put last Saturdays disappointing performance at Hullensians behind them as they picked up their third win of the season away at Keighley.
A strong first half from Beverley RUFC proved the difference as the Beavers beat Bradford Salem 30-24 maintaining their perfect start to the new season.