With 39 minutes of the match played and Goole scoring four tries to lead 24-0 this was a sedate stroll in the park wasn’t it? Well, no is the answer as Yarnbury ran out unlikely victors with the key question being asked by the Goole players, Coaches and supporters. “How did we manage to lose that game”? Well without going into details, Goole essentially transformed themselves from a united and organised first 20 min team, into a second half unrecognisable collection of individuals who were easily picked off by the Yarnbury back line that just did the basics very well to score tries without having to work too hard.
But it all started off so comfortable for Goole who dominated the first 15mins of the match thanks to aggressive carries by the forwards, Craig Fenton and Will Townend in particular, to get Goole on the front foot to score tries from Danny Holt, Townend and Billy Walker. Add to that total domination in the scrum and the result looked a forgone conclusion despite Yarnbury finally getting some possession to run though their drills but with limited success. However, as in their previous match, Goole started to concede penalties, 17 in total during the match, and Yarnbury gratefully accepted the gift and finally tested the Goole defence for the first time. To their credit the home team organisation and defensive line held firm as they then worked their way downfield for Josh Malcolm to stretch for a touchdown alongside the Yarnbury posts. Unfortunately, tackle came in just as he was touching down that resulted in the ball bouncing forward but more disappointingly for all watching, a dislocated shoulder for Malcolmson who walked off in considerable pain. The loss of 7 points was disappointing but no where near the disappointment of losing Malcolmson who was as dynamic as usual, this time playing flanker. To Goole’s credit they received possession from the drop-out and managed a fourth “bonus point try” when Danny Holt went over for his second try after a strong run from Townend, 24-0. Game over? Afraid not as Goole missed touch with a clearance kick to bring the half time whistle and the Yarnbury back three showed their quality running the ball from their own half, creating 2 v 1 situations past hapless isolated defenders to go under the post for their opening try, HT 24-7.
This score was certainly a major boost for Yarnbury as they successfully continued the simple tactic of a quick tap from every one of the seven second half penalties conceded by Goole who were struggling to form a defensive line each time. A classic example coming from a 60m try scored by the Yarnbury centre, who, without being particularly fast, agile or dynamic, tapped a penalty conceded by Goole in his own half to run past / through seven or eight Goole players to score under the posts without a hand being laid on him. As a result of the home team defensive disarray and some weak tackling, Yarnbury ran in three second half tries to take the lead 24-26, exploiting backs v forwards mismatches on a regular basis. To Goole’s credit they bounced back and retook the lead with a Rhys Moore penalty, that was quickly followed by a converted try from Matty Lill who gathered a deft kick from Moore to bring the score to 34-26. The home team crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief that the team had managed to get their act together to reassert their earlier dominance with 20 mins remaining. The problem was, no one told Yarnbury, who recaptured the lead with two more converted tries, again without having to work too hard to get the scores, 34-40 with 9 mins remaining. With the fire in their heart seemingly re-ignited back came Goole to dominate the remainder of the match as they looked for the converted try they needed. Disappointingly they blew a major chance after opting for a series of scrums near the Yarnbury try line. Driving forward at a controlled pace they drove over the try line but due to a major cock-up between Goole’s 8 and 9, both left the ball for the other allowing the Yarnbury off-half to dive in the scrum to touch the ball down and subsequently clear with the goal line drop-out. With possession from the drop out they once again pushed hard and were rewarded with the required score when Will Townend again went over and the conversion to come. Such is the fate of kickers, Moore’s conversion attempt drifted wide as Yarnbury successfully defended the remaining couple of minutes for the final score of 39-40.
Whilst watching the match was painful for the Goole supporters, watching it again on VEO to compile this match report was even harder, with many of the weaknesses displayed by the Goole side thankfully being rare events. Whilst the effort was still there to see, the apparent lack of organisation, and communication, plus the high penalty count are areas that need to be improved.