Whitby – 5 Guisborough – 16

This was to be a hard encounter this week with league leaders Guisborough making the jaunt to Whitby.
Whitby started off at a hasty pace and pressured the Guisborough defence from the start, some admirable play from the forwards with Matt Russell, John Harrison and Shane Young impressing the biggest crowd of the season with their 100 percent commitment in the rucks and mauls.

The opening 15 minutes of the game were played in the Guisborough half with Whitby keeping on the pressure with beefy running and level-headed play, but the Guisborough resistance held strong and kept Whitby out.
A break from Guisborough saw them breach a few tackles and get the ball wide for the winger to use his speed and go over the line to score.

Whitby came back again the team working well with all players doing more then expected and putting their bodies on the line to create the chances needed. From a run and chip by Oliver Roberts saw the Guisborough defence off guard and the ball went loose and the velocity of winger Guy saw him beat the man to the ball to score and tie the scores.

In the second half both teams were functioning well with the Guisborough big runners meeting as equal big tackles from Whitby, Ste Gildroy was working well clearing up the loose ball and setting good platforms for the backs to do what they do best.

From an unfortunate mistake Guisborough dribbled the ball down the pitch with football like skills and managed to put it down over the line. Whitby’s determination was starting to show as a few injuries occurred in quick succession proving that each player was giving their all and prepared to put their bodies on the line to assist the team out. A few mistakes were made and Guisborough kicked two more penalties to extend their lead.

In the final part of the game tempers flared and it got a bit messy unfortunately Matt Russell took the blame and got ten minutes in the bin. Whitby kept pushing right to the end but could not get over the line to put points on the board.

A good performance against the league leaders with every single player doing more than expected and giving everything they had to help their fellow team members, but unfortunately it was not enough but there was many positives to take away from the game.

MOM – James Gildroy (still went on and nearly cried with a sprained neck)
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