Stocksbridge Rugby made it 4 wins from their last 5 games with a determined performance at the weekend, sending high flying Goole RUFC packing after a thrilling encounter at Coal Pit Lane.
Both sides deserve credit for providing an entertaining game in such conditions, the howling gale lead to most of the game being played in one half of the pitch.
Stocksbridge recalled Jase Hirst to replace the unavailable Andy Beal, & welcomed back experienced centre Dave Potts for the injured Dave Brown, club Vice Captain Adam Firth continued his recovery from injury with a place on the interchange bench.
Playing into the face of the gale in the first half, the home side knew it would take a massive defensive effort however, they started brightly with back rower Ricky Rowett making good ground right from the kick off. Stocksbridge should have scored, but Ryan Smith was unable to cling on to a stray pass & the chance went begging. More good work from the powerful home pack set up an attacking scrum, where the visitors had no answer to the dominant Stocksbridge set piece, but a technical offense again let Goole off the hook. Stalwart prop James 'chopsey' Lambert sustained a shoulder injury & was replaced by the hustle & bustle of Joe Smith as Stocksbridge continued to defend their line. Bowskill managed to clear the Stocksbridge lines on a number of occasions, kicking well against the wind however, when the visitors did gather possession they always looked threatening & their backline showed a touch of class to create space, & support well, despite some good cover tackling Stocksbridge just ran out of numbers & conceded the opening try, which was also converted to nudge the visitors in front.
Stocksbridge Rugby stuck to their task, & the game plan to make sure this was the only score of the game however, a succession of sin binnings for skipper Keenan (stamping) Donaldson (illegal hit) & Joe Smith (high tackle) left them with only 12 men on the field at one time ! Still enough to win a further scrum. The card happy official also sin binned one of the Goole forwards towards the end of the half, which ended with the visitors leading by 7pts to nil.
Playing with the gale behind them, Gools struggled to contain the rampant Stocksbridge forwards, wily veteran Ricky Christopherson was introduced to the fray, & he added some guile & composure as the home side built wave after wave of attacks. Two further sin bins as the Goole defence were forced to concede, allowed enough room tor Christopherson to wriggle over in the corner for a score, magnificently converted from the touch line by Scotty Bowskill. More Stocksbridge pressure brought more opportunity & wrecking ball Craig Donaldson went close on one of his trade mark stampedes, & slammin Sam Whitaker also went close but dropped the ball with the try line at his mercy. As all top sides do, Goole never gave in, but found the home side defence strong & determined, a booming hit from Connor Brown stopped a visiting forward in his tracks.
As time drew close, Stocksbridge were going all out for the killer try & a win, & once again it was the dominant scrum, walking their opponents back 15 metres for Hirst to have the simpleist of touch downs from No 8, & Bowskill again converted to improve the score.
Stocksbridge were again looking threatening when the referee blew time & a final score of Stocksbridge Rugby 14pts - Goole RUFC 7pts sends the hard working Piggy's upto 6th place in the league.
'a very dominant forward performance laid the foundations for this win' said Head Coach Tyers afterwards 'our pack just bossed the game, & they couldn't handle our physicality' adding 'we really should have scored another 2 or 3 tries, but we're creating opportunities, & it will come'
Stocksbridge Rugby are on the road again this weekend, looking for a hat trick of wins with a tricky trip to Harrogate Pythons, kick off is 2.15pm & there is a bus for interested supporters, please contact the club for details

Stocksbridge Rugby have issued a warning to the players, after it emerged that 3 un-named members of 1st XV squad were involved in late night drinking before the home game this weekend.
'We have a code of conduct & the players are expected to be professional enough to respect this' said a Club spokesman, 'the matter will be handled internally, & that will be the end of it' he added.