Home Win for Yorkshire 1 Champions

With a record crowd cheering them on to the pitch for their final Yorkshire One League games of the season, Goole faced a very handy Wetherby side that just missed out on promotion themselves. With a full squad of players to choose from, it was a pretty recognisable line-up from previous weeks, with the main changes being Robson Jones’s return at off-half and Eddie Newsum in the second row.
The game started at a rapid pace as Goole immediately attacked seeking an early score and they were rewarded with a Connor Walker try after just three minutes as the aggressive forward play proved too much for the hard-pressed Wetherby defence. Rhys Moore’s successful conversion satisfying the demands of the vociferous home crowd to give Goole the lead 7 - 0.
If the crowd thought that the flood gates were about to open, they were disappointed as Wetherby took advantage of some poor-quality play from the home side to get on to the scoreboard with a successful penalty 7 – 3.
Disappointingly for the large crowd the remainder of the half was a very forgettable with Goole in particular, having a very low success rate for just about everything that they tried with knock-ons and fumbles in abundance. Couple that with yet another game where they gave away numerous penalties, and it was an overall mediocre first half performance as they made life easy for the Wetherby defenders.
Billy Walker came closest to scoring a late first half try as he was tackled into touch near the corner flag but apart from that, Goole created no other clear scoring opportunities. HT 7 – 3.
The second half started with no real increase in quality with both teams looking far from their best in this end of the season game. Goole did manage to stretch out their lead with a ninth minute try by Billy Walker after some slick handling by both forwards and backs close to the Wetherby try line. Moore converted to make the score 14 – 3.
Overall, Goole had the majority second half possession and territorial advantage but failed to apply any real prolonged pressure on the Wetherby defence mainly due to their line-out not functioning effectively and continued breakdown infringements. There were the regular individual moments as we expect from these quality players but no real composure or collective and effective teamwork for any prolonged period in the game. We have come to expect strong carries by Tink Taylor, Will Townend, Jack and Sam Smith and that is what we got, but sadly nothing generally came of these moments as the rain came and contributed to the error count.
Wetherby were now getting the edge in the scrum and with Goole not taking advantage of the few attacking lineouts that they had, points were always going to be difficult to acquire, with the game being played in mid-field.
Despite the frustrations, Goole continued to attack at every opportunity but also spent some time defending against a strong running Wetherby team with both forwards and backs making ground. Wetherby suffered another yellow card but once again Goole did not really take advantage, failing to score any points with the extra man.
They did however get a third try with just five minutes remaining after turning down a penalty kick in front of the posts, Moore tapping and offloading to the supporting back line. Quick hands and textbook passing seeing Billy Walker going over for his second try of the match. Rhys Moore’s excellent conversion bringing the score to 21 – 3, with the game entered its final few minutes and Goole in search of a fourth try bonus point. Things looked promising with ball in hand and gaps in the Wetherby defence out wide but instead of scoring themselves, they gifted Wetherby with a try after an ambitious pass went to ground and gathered by the speedy Wetherby winger who ran 70m to score a converted try. Final Score 21 – 10.
Whilst Goole did not manage the sparkling champagne performance to finish off their successful Yorkshire One season, it once again demonstrated their overall ability by winning yet another game against a quality side without playing very well. So, all in all this has been a very successful league performance for Goole with 33 players putting on a first team shirt this season. With this quality squad of players, we can look forward to taking on the challenges of North East 2 next season but for the moment lets just enjoy the achievement.
With a packed and joyful club house the party lasted late into the night as the whole club celebrated with generous contributions ex-President Hughie Walton’s favourite charity, Yorkshire Air Ambulance.