LATE VIKINGS TRY SENDS LIONS TO DEFEAT

GOOLE VIKINGS 32

SWINTON LIONS 28

IAN RIGG Victoria Pleasure Grounds Saturday

Goole Vikings kept up their good home form with a very close victory over the Lions in a game that could have gone either way in the dying seconds. Both sides started the game strongly having chances at both ends but ball handling was letting them down in the early stages, but little did they know it was going to turn out as a bit of a classic and a real treat for the fans. Vikings took the lead on sixteen minutes when Morgan Punchard burst through the Lions defence down the middle to feed Will Brough who crossed on the left and Jack Miller converted. Goole then made a handling error at the kick off which allowed the Lions a ten metre play the ball and from this the passing movement saw Jack Stevens cross on the right, but he was unable to convert. More chances for both sides before Liam Watts crashed in under the posts and Miller stretched the lead. Harry Aldous then went over eight minutes from the break after a nice pass from Callum Rutland and again the conversion was good to stretch the lead, but the Lions had other thoughts and Bobby Shingler crashed in for his first Lions points of the season scoring under the posts and Stevens converted. And with two minutes the go to the break Shingler scored again by the posts and Stevens converted to make it a two-point ball game at the break.

The Lions put pressure on the Goole line from the start of the second half but lost the ball and this put Vikings back on the attack and they made the Lions pay when Rutland went over on the right and this was again converted. Pat Ah Van then saved a try by getting to the attack and claiming the ball to set Aaron Lynch on the run. Miller then added a penalty goal when both teams decided to fight. A Vikings player was placed on report on sixty-three minutes for something that happened in the tackle. Trent Kelly-Duffy was sent to the sinbin for dissent two minutes later. The Lions were now putting more and more pressure on the line, and they hit back on seventy minutes when Ah Van sent out a lovely short pass for Jordan Brown to crash in and Stevens converted. Three minutes later Vikings lost the ball in their own twenty and a couple of passes later Gav Rodden scored on the left and Stevens converted to put his side ahead. Aldous was sent to the sinbin for throwing the ball just after Rodden scored. Miller sent a short restart, and Vikings got the ball back and this ended with Keenan Tomlinson finishing off a move to score in the right corner and Miller converted to put the home side back ahead. The last minute was very frantic as the Lions got the ball back and it looked like we were in for a wide to West moment and despite a penalty for offside the Vikings managed to hold out for victory.

MATCHFACTS

VIKINGS

1 Josh Guzdek

2 Tom Halliday

3 Cooper Howlett

52 Will Brough

5 Callum Shaw

22 Callum Rutland

7 Jack Miller

30 Liam Watts

51 Morgan Punchard

49 Owen Haldenby