Vale of Lune topple league leaders North Ribblesdale

Monday, 26 January 2026 09:27

By Barry Lees

MATCH REPORT: Vale of Lune 24 North Ribblesdale 14

The sun adorned the wide, green sportscape of Powder House Lane, a far cry from the frozen pitch of a fortnight before when this game was called off.

A jocular exchange of messages between the clubs hinted at a new wave of Wars of the Roses. Meanwhile, there remained league promotion places for both sides to concentrate on. At the helm was referee Geoffrey Ainslie.

With North Ribblesdale at the top of NW2 and the Vale in fourth place, a big finish to the season would be set up on days like these. A big and vocal crowd of away supporters added to the energy, but it was the home side who took the early initiative.

Pressing deep into N. Ribb's turf, they threatened the tryline for a sustained period.

Against the trend came a break by the nippy N. Ribb backs. three missed tackles allowed the men from Yorkshire to open the scoring with their first visit to the Vale's 22 area.

Another similar try soon followed, but as the Vale faithful feared a disappointing afternoon, Mark Goodman's men showed that they are made of stronger stuff.

Despite losing Sam Wallbank for a 10 minute spell of inactive reflection, Vale struck back with a crucial break by full back Damon Hall. His try to the left of the posts was converted by Jamie Mayall and the Vale were firing on all cylinders once more.

Joe Bradshaw came onto the right wing for his 1st XV debut and N. Ribb had to work harder to get a hand on the ball. Half time cam with the score at 7 - 14 to N. Ribb.

The fellow in yellow restarted the game and the Vale came out with renewed gusto. They pounded the N. Ribb defences, executing phase after phase of controlled possession until flanker Sam Walton found the door open as he sprinted through to level the scores.

Another series of accurate, crossfield passes at speed from right wing to the left gave Damon Hall the ball with only one man to beat. Acceleration is merely one of his talents, and he used it to cross the line unimpeded and claim the lead foe the first time.

As the match progressed, the quest was to extend that lead. Bradshaw on the right wing and McFarlane on the right were finger-ends away from scoring, but desperate defending by N. Ribb held up the ball from contact with the ground.

Frustrations amid the visitors brought about a yellow card and the resultant place kick by Mayall took the score beyond the reach of the league leaders.

It was a fine example of keeping shape and focus in the face of a setback. Coach Goodman, leading by example, has instilled such positivity in this Vale side.

Stand-out performances came from Josh Sutcliffe in the forwards and Jamie Mayall in the backs.

Next week sees another home fixture. The opponents are Altrincham Kersal. Kick off at 2.15pm.

Team: J. Crompton, H. Dokter, R. Pillow, M. Goodman, J. Sutcliffe, S. Walton, S. Wallbank, J. Ayrton (c), B. Swarbrick, K. Gledhill, J. McFarlane, J. Mayall, H. Finan, R. Busby, D. Hall. Reps: J. Bradshaw, M. Bradshaw, A. Fowler.

Here are some match action images from the game. Photos by Tony North.

Vale's Sam Wallbank clears