RUGBY LEAGUE: Goulding delivers despair to Leeds

RUGBY LEAGUE

BY DAVE HADFIELD

Leeds 20

St Helens 31

Bobby Goulding, with five goals, a drop goal, and a creator's role in four tries, ensured that one of his former clubs, Leeds, will not beat another, Wigan, to the championship. A second defeat in four days means that Leeds now need Wigan to loose four times in their last seven matches.

Leeds' shoddy defence that lost them the game at Sheffield on Sunday again hampered them last night. There was no gap for Steve Prescott when he picked up the ball at dummy half but a shimmy and a burst of pace took him past four men for a brilliant try, improved by Goulding.

That woke up Leeds to the danger of their ailing title hopes dying completely and Saints had to work hard to keep them out until George Mann and Craig Innes created space for Francis Cummins to score. Holroyd's kick knicked the post but his penalty for an off-side levelled the score.

On the half-hour, however, the Leeds defence opened up again to admit Chris Joynt after he had taken a pass from Goulding. He duly added a goal. Worse was to come from Goulding, in the shape of an exquisite cross-kick to enable Alan Hunte to fly in and score on the right flank four minutes before half time. Leeds were in a crisis, only slightly eased by Holroyd's injury-time penalty.

Leeds could not break down an eager Saints' defence until Holroyd dummied his way through in the 55th minute, his kick again rebounding from the woodwork. That narrow miss was all the more galling when Goulding edged Saints further ahead with a drop goal. Leeds came back to within a point when James Lowes scooped up Mann's pass but Holroyd was again off target. But then Goulding landed a penalty after Leeds had advanced the kick 10 yards though decent and then opened the way for Apollo Perelini to send in Sonny Nickle for the clinching try.

As if to rub it in, Goulding's conversion went in off the post and he then set up Andy Haigh for Saints' final try and he converted from the touchline. Cummins' second try in injury time was no consolation.

Leeds: Tait; Fallon, Iro, Innes, Cummins, Holroyd, Vassilakopoulous, Harmon (Mercer, 31), Lowes, Faimalo (Harmon, 56) , Mann (Faimalo, 68), Eyres, Hanley.

St Helens: Prescott; Hunte, Elia, Northey, Haigh, Martyn, Goulding, Fogerty (Pickavance, 26), Cunningham, Perelini, Joynt (Fogerty, h-t), Nickle, Cooper (Veivers, 67).

Referee: J Holdsworth (Kippax).

n Doncaster are likely to go out of business today following the failure of the consortium bidding for control of the club to reach agreement with the Rugby League and the administrator who has been in charge of the South Yorkshire outfit.