Goole started 2023 with a hard-fought home win against a tough tackling Bradford Salem side on Saturday as they continued their push for promotion. With Charlie Walton and Jack Smith unavailable due to injury and James Walton AWOL, Goole once again had to reshuffle the pack with Patrick Graf-Grote coming in to the second row and Raymond Cotes making his front row debut at hooker.

With the pitch in excellent condition despite the rain and a cross wind that did not favour either team, it was Salem that made the brighter start and had the chance to take the lead with a very kickable penalty after just two minutes. Fortunately, it was missed, as Goole made a somewhat indifferent start to the game, kicking away early possession as they found it hard going against a very well organised Salem defence.

They did however have the first try scoring opportunity when Billy Walker was tackled into touch just short of the Salem try line following the first of many turnovers in the game. Goole did however take the lead after 14mins with a well struck penalty from Rhys Moore as they got more into their stride and then stretched their lead in the 24th minute following a Salem defensive blunder. Moore’s penalty kick at goal dropped short but was knocked on by a Salem defender, only to be gathered by a teammate in an offside position as Goole charged forward to gather the ball. An automatic yellow card for the defender was then followed by a Goole try when they tapped the penalty and put Billy Walker over in the corner for the first try of the game. 8 – 0.

Goole were now getting into their stride and looking the most likely side to score next and that is what happened following a scrum on the halfway line. Moore picked up from the base and made the initial break before offloading to Lill at pace who drew the last defender to put a speedy Tink Taylor in for a quality try. Rhys Moore’s excellent conversion making the score 15 – 0 in the 27th minute.

Having gained the initiative Goole now looked like they could go on to win the game handsomely but to Salem’s credit they responded well and pushed Goole back on to the defence. They turned down an opportunity to kick at goal to go for a 5m line out that they won but then lost the ball in the breakdown allowing Goole to clear their lines. Goole created an unsuccessful half-chance following a kick return run from Danny Holt but ended the half on a negative note with Louis Sugden sin-binned following a series of penalties conceded by Goole and a warning from the referee. Half Time 15 – 0

With supporters from both teams looking forward to more entertaining second half, they were disappointed as the quality of the game went into decline. Whilst the commitment from both sides was clear to see, the execution success was not. In the end the game went flat with a constant flow of penalties awarded by the referee and numerous fumbles and turnovers preventing any flow to the game at all. The fact that the two yellow cards shown in the second half, one for each side, were just about the only memorable happening is an example of the lack of any real quality.

Goole did manage to get into some very good positions, but they all came to nothing, either as a result of the referee’s whistle or an error. To Salem’s credit they continued to fight hard and were rewarded with the only score in the second half when they went over for an unconverted try in the 34th minute to bring the score to 15 – 5. At this point Goole looking somewhat flat and if Salem had been able to score earlier, it would have made a very interesting situation as Salem certainly finished the game on the front foot.

In the end whilst Goole just edged the result, it was a long way from the fast-flowing rugby that we have seen so far this season down at Westfield Banks. Having said that, everyone was more than happy with the result despite Goole failing to get a home game try bonus point for the first time this season. No real outstanding individual today with everyone in the squad doing their bit. George Bastow made his first team debut on the wing but did not really get the opportunity to show us what he can do, but that will come as he looked the part with the limited ball that he got. Robson Jones looked comfortable at off-half, and it will be interesting to keep an eye on his development in this key position, whilst Billy Walker looked sharp throughout. The one very positive feature of the game was the performance of Raymond Coates at hooker. Both the scrums and lineout went well, and his physical contribution in the open play was up to his usual high standard despite the change of position.

Goole are away at Dinnington next week who have failed to win at home since September last year and are languishing at the lower end of the table, so a positive result will be expected. With the cobwebs blown out of their system, Goole should be reasonably optimistic that they can get a result to take them in to a run of three consecutive home games and a major step nearer to that promotion target.