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Oldham Roughyeds 38 Rochdale Hornets 8

George Dodds
3/ 3/2008

WHEN a side has conceded an average of 41 points in its first four games it doesn’t take a genius to work out which areas need to be improved on.

When that side has won one game and come within a try of winning a second – despite those defensive frailties – it shows there are plenty of positives for Bobbie Goulding and his coaching staff to work on.

But at gale-lashed Boundary Park on Friday it all came down to who controlled the ball best and made the least mistakes and, sadly for the visitors, it was their nearest and dearest who did the basics better and ended Hornets’ eight-game derby winning streak.

It was a night when Hornets huffed and puffed but could not blow the Oldham defence down. In addition they were guilty of forcing the pass on too many occasions and conceding silly penalties in vital positions.

Against an Oldham side still on a high after beating Salford seven days previously, the kind of indecision which saw fullback Benji Lloyd and winger Alex Brown make a meal of a nothing kick through from James Coyle and knock-on in front of their own posts was the last thing Hornets needed. It gave Oldham possession in a dangerous position and quick hands moved the ball out wide for Mick Nanyn to open the scoring after nine minutes.

Chris Forster hoisted the restart high into the teeth of the gale and it was duly spilled by Marcus St Hilaire, giving Hornets superb field position. Mike Callan was held up as he drove for the line but Forster and Martin Ainscough linked well to make space for Chris Spurr to stretch out and level the scores.

Four minutes later, Hornets won a penalty in front of their own posts after Oldham were caught crossing but David Best tried to force a pass on the first tackle and the ball was turned over. Two drives later, Oldham’s second-rower Rob Roberts powered over the line with three defenders hanging off him – it set the tone for the night, Hornets error equals Oldham points.

After 20 minutes Oldham all but sealed a winning position as Neil Roden simply kept on running and suddenly found the try line in front of him. Hornets introduced Sam Butterworth and he gave a little more impetus to the midfield while Craig Farrimond and Wayne Corcoran made some strong runs. But still careless hands hampered their cause.

Chris Campbell had brilliantly covered a crossfield kick by Coyle which seemed measured to perfection for home winger Gareth Langley, but two minutes before the interval Coyle pushed another grubber-kick through, this time behind the posts. The danger seemed to have passed when St Hilaire over-ran the ball and everyone seemed to relax, all that is except Craig Littler, who touched the loose ball down.

Even though they would have the wind in their favour Hornets had done little in the first 40 minutes to suggest that they could pull back an 18 point deficit in the second-half.

However, with Best and Corcoran running hard they did manage to draw first blood after 54 minutes, albeit a little fortuitously.

Langley was fingertips away from intercepting a floating Jimmy Elston pass towards Campbell but knocked-on instead. Corcoran peeled off the back of the resulting scrum and used referee Jamie Leahy as a foil to score.

Hornets enjoyed their best spell of the game as Elston, Ainscough and Mike Stout combined well only to be hauled back for a forward pass.

At the other end the alert Campbell collected the ball behind his own line and relieved the pressure with a strong run.

However, Oldham sealed the game with two tries in three minutes – both coming after Hornets were penalised for offences in the tackle. First Nanyn set up winger Paul O’Connor and then St Hilaire crept over from dummy half.

Campbell came inside looking for work and the midfield combination of Butterworth, Elston and Ainscough probed for gaps with little effect.

Then, four minutes from time, Hornets were caught flat-footed as Coyle danced his way over for the final try, Nanyn adding his fifth conversion from seven attempts – a quite superb effort in appalling conditions.

Oldham are obviously one of the early season form teams and favourites to win the both the National Rail group and National League Two having invested in some big name players during the summer.

The good news for Hornets is that most of the teams they face over the rest of the season will not be as high a standard. The bad news is that they must face them again at Spotland tonight (Wednesday).