Goole Topple League Leaders In Tight Game

In a re-run of the situation earlier in the season, Goole, on the back of three successive defeats, faced a high-flying Selby team who came into the game after a resounding 50+ point win against Old Crossleyans last week. With the Selby gateman forecasting a comprehensive try bonus point win for the home side as they were at full strength, there was no doubt that Goole certainly had a tough task on their hands with Selby clear pre-match favourites. However as with any local derby, form and league position don’t mean a great deal and that is how the game played out with Goole once again coming out on top for an unprecedented third time in a single season.
Front row issues once again for Goole with Jamie Lamb starting at prop for the first time for a few seasons, but a welcomed return to the bench after injury for Josh Malcolmson. Selby kicked off as the game started in a familiar pattern with Goole being awarded the first of many breakdown penalties as the teams sounded each other out in the early exchanges. Good possession from a line out and a strong carry from Jack Smith got Goole into the Selby 22 and they took an early 0 – 3 lead with a successful penalty in front of the posts from Rhys Moore. It was Jack Smith once again that got Goole into the Selby half with his offload being kicked towards the corner and gathered by brother Sam near the Selby line. Unfortunately, a foot in touch as he passed inside to Walker saved Selby, but Goole were not to denied points for long as Moore extended Goole’s lead to 0 – 6 with a well struck penalty after ten minutes of the match.
From the restart Selby applied pressure with forward charges towards the Goole try line after an exchange of turnovers at the breakdown, and they would be disappointed to come away empty handed especially after dominating the opening scrum in the match just 5m from the Goole line. The heavyweight ball carrier being held up over the try line allowing Goole to clear. With good possession from the restarts the Selby backs started to look dangerous with their fast hands and electrifying pace, but the Goole tackling held firm to nullify the Selby threat. Louis Greaves was now at prop in place of Lamb as Goole pressed from a line out close to the Selby try line with good possession and a numerous phases sucking in the home team defence. The confusion being exploited by the alert Rhys Moore who dummied and went over untouched for the opening try of the game from close range. Unfortunately, the conversion was unsuccessful as Goole extended their lead to 0 – 11 after 26mins. Goole then received a blow when prop Jason Blanchard was sin binned for an innocuous high tackle to give Selby the boost they desperately needed to get points on the board before half time. They came close following a charge by the forwards but were denied a score when the player was penalised for a double movement that allowed Goole to clear once again. With play now in midfield, a Selby player went down with what looked like a nasty injury as the game was held up for some time. We wish him all the very best and hope that the injury is not as serious as it looked initially. With quality possession from the resulting scrum on halfway, the Selby backs showed their quality with fast hands off first phase ball that resulted in an unconverted try in the corner as they took advantage of Goole being a man down in the back line. This was certainly the boost that the Selby needed as they won a penalty and possession from the following lineout to breach the hard tackling Goole defence for a second time out wide with the excellent conversion giving the home team an unlikely 12 – 11 half time lead.
No surprise that it was the home team that started the 2nd half on the front foot but despite their efforts they were restricted by the committed Goole defenders to just three solitary points from a late penalty. After the initial opening exchanges and Charlie Walton now in the mix, Rhys Moore started using the freshening breeze effectively to kick for position deep inside the Selby 22. Possession and numerous phases then resulted in the ball being moved sharply along the Goole backs to Sam Smith who beat his man on the outside to go over for an unconverted try. 12 – 16 with 20 mins remaining. Josh Malcolmson replaced Neal in the back row as Lill gathered a Selby clearance kick and ran the ball back. Three offloads in contact later, Danny Holt burst clear to score Goole’s 3rd try of the game. Disappointingly, the conversion was again unsuccessful, but Goole now lead 12 – 21 but following a harsh yellow card for Goole’s Tom Holt for another high tackle, Selby closed the gap with a penalty bringing them to within a converted try and Goole fretting over the missed conversions. 15 – 21. At this late stage, Goole were helped by Selby lineout malfunctions giving them possession and the opportunity to kick deep into the Selby half once again. Goole looked as though they had sealed the game when Jack Smith picked up at the base of the scrum to charge over the Selby defender enroute to the try line only for the referee to award Selby a penalty for holding in the scrum. Selby gave one last effort, but they were effectively thwarted by the Goole tacklers, in particular the 'Tasmanian Devil' tackling of Malcolmson who excelled in the later stages of the game.
All in all, this was another well-deserved win for Goole who thwarted Selby time and time again. Whilst the scrums were a concern in the early stages, Greaves showed his developing capabilities as the scrum stabilised as the game progressed with Jason Blanchard again having an excellent game. Many “Man of the Match” contenders again but no surprise that it was a member of the Smith family, with Sam getting the nod this week.