Rugby League

League 1

Sunday 2nd June 2024

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.03

Midlands Hurricanes 18 Keighley Cougars 25, attendance 463 (official) 249 (actual)

@ Alexander Stadium

Walsall Road

Perry Barr

Birmingham

B42 2LR

£15 Admission

Programme free, 28 pages, didn’t bother.

Having stayed overnight in North Wales, following the North Wales Crusaders game yesterday, it made sense to do this game on the way home, especially with it being at the slightly earlier time of 2 o’clock. I came to watch Midlands Hurricanes last March, but they just played on a pitch inside the warm up track at the back of the complex, but this season they have actually moved to hosting games inside the main stadium itself. I’d actually already seen football played here, having seen West Midlands U19 beat Staffordshire U19 5-2 in an English Schools F.A. Inter County Cup match back in November 1996, but this was my first visit to see rugby league. It was opened in 1976 and has an all seated capacity of around 18,000, although only the one side was open to spectators today. It was used as a host venue for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and is the home stadium to athletics club Birchfield Harriers. Unfortunately, due to it hosting athletics, it means views to the pitch are distant, due to the running track and made worse by having to view across the long jump/triple jump pits as well, which means sitting even further back from the action.

As for the game, it was 5th versus 2nd, with Keighley looking for the win that would return them to the top of the table, having been dislodged following Oldham’s win at North Wales Crusaders yesterday evening. Hurricanes led 6-0, but were then down to 12 men, following a sin bin, which gave Keighley the opportunity to hit back to level at 6-6 and despite Hurricanes then being back to full strength, Keighley immediately hit them with another try, which was converted, before adding a drop goal in the dying seconds to go in 6-13 ahead at the break. An early second half try, again converted, brought it back to 12-13, but Keighley edged clear by adding two more converted tries to lead 12-25 and although Hurricanes managed a try of their own with ten minutes left, which once converted pulled it back to 18-25, they had left themselves too much to do and the visitors deservedly held on to take the points.

As with yesterday’s game, the crowd announced was ridiculously inflated. I’d done a count, which is easy when everyone is on one side and the actual number present was 214 fewer than claimed.