BRADFORD Salem suffered a fourth consecutive defeat in Counties One Yorkshire on Saturday, going down 29-14 against Goole on a windy day at Shay Lane.

Playing with the elements in their favour, the visitors soon had Salem on the backfoot and it took a big hit by Kiwi prop Murphy Kupe, who was making his debut for the club, to stem the tide.

Goole then had an opportunity to take an early lead, only for scrum half Rhys Moore's penalty attempt from 30 metres to shave the wrong side of the left-hand upright.

Despite this minor set-back, Goole continued to pile on the pressure, and, although Salem second rower Fin Southcott managed to steal the ball from a 22 metre line-out, the ball was ripped from his grasp.

From there, a clever offload put prop James Walton over in the corner to give the visitors a 5-0 lead after 14 minutes.

Moments later, Goole were awarded a penalty for a high shot, but they caught Salem off-guard by playing advantage and, after breaking down the left flank, man of the match Jack Smith used his pace and power to score in the corner.

Moore landed the conversion from the touchline to put his side 12-0 in front.

On the 30 minute mark, the game was interrupted when referee Mark Smith had to speak to both captains following a fracas.

Once order had been restored, the rest of the half developed into a bit of an arm-wrestle, the only points coming from the boot of Moore, who slotted a penalty from 45 metres out to give his side a 15-0 advantage at the break.

Salem seemed to up their game in the second half, with strong carries from Tom Cummins and Christian Baines providing the momentum.

However, Goole managed to rip the ball away on several occasions to relieve the pressure.

With just under 10 minutes of the second half played, Salem were awarded a penalty for a blatant high tackle on replacement winger Josh Charnock, but referee Smith riled the home support by not punishing the guilty player.

In spite of this potentially game-changing decision, slick hands from Sam Allan and Kupe gave prop Xander McConville the chance to show his strength and force his way over for a try, which Jake Green improved to reduce the deficit to 15-7.

In view of Goole's earlier let-off, Salem probably had reason to feel aggrieved when Ben Whitaker was yellow carded for a high tackle which a Goole player seemed to duck into.

To make matters worse, the visitors took full advantage of the extra man as Will Townend barged over in the left corner, Moore landing another magnificent touchline conversion for a 22-7 lead.

With 10 minutes remaining, Whitaker returned to the fray and he was immediately involved with a telling midfield run.

Further carries by Kupe, McConville and Baines got Salem to within striking distance, and, from a five-metre line-out, an excellent take by Dom Bailey set up a driving maul.

The ball was then moved out wide, giving Green just enough room to squeeze in at the corner for a try he improved himself to put the hosts back in it at 22-14.

Unfortunately, Salem knocked on straight from the restart, allowing Goole to launch a final assault inside the opposing 22.

Then in the very last play of the game, some fine handling in the backs created sufficient space for Goole full-back Danny Holt to sprint over for a bonus point try.

Moore added the extras to seal a 29-14 win that kept the East Riding side at the top of the table.

Elsewhere in the division, high-flying Keighley recovered from a slow start to thump rock-bottom Roundhegians 48-11.

In Regional Two North East, strugglers Bradford & Bingley were annihilated 70-21 by visiting Moortown, while in Regional One North East, mid-table Cleckheaton lost a high-scoring clash 56-31 at Alnwick.