Mirfield Spartans cemented their place in the top two with arguably their finest performance of the season, beating a previously unbeaten Keighley Albion side at Frank Middleton Park on Saturday.
The win extends the Spartans’ own unbeaten run to seven games and comes just a week after they snatched second place in the Yorkshire Conference.
Mirfield ran in six tries on the day, with Lewis Toner grabbing the headlines courtesy of another hat-trick.
But the scoreline told only part of the story, with strong performances right across the park.
After an even arm wrestle early on, the home side took the lead when superb footwork from Lewis Boye carved out an opportunity for Logan Sykes on the right wing.
Left winger Dylan Waterworth added a second when Keighley failed to clear the danger at the kick.
The Spartans then went back to back with a try straight from the kick-off, as James Willcock smashed through on the return before finding the supporting Toner, who had the pace to beat the covering defenders.
It soon became four unanswered tries after aggressive defence near the Keighley line forced an error.
Kian Morgan orchestrated a flowing move from the scrum, with Toner timing his run perfectly to squeeze over inside the corner flag.
All four conversions were missed, however, leaving the contest far from over, and Albion gave Mirfield something to think about with a smart one-on-one steal at the kick-off that led to a converted try.
The first score of the second half always looked crucial, and it went the home side’s way after a training ground move sent Morgan through in midfield, with Toner once again on hand to collect the pass and finish.
The kick was again missed, but Spartans made sure of victory when Waterworth crossed on the left edge from a neat hands play to make it 24-6, with time firmly against the visitors.
Albion enjoyed some pressure of their own in the second half but had two players sin-binned as frustrations boiled over, making it harder for them to add to their tally.
The result moves Mirfield onto 13 points, two clear of Albion.
Photo: Winterburn Photography
