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by ROGER HALSTEAD
 
COACH Steve Deakin delivered a pat on the back to his assistant boss Mark Cass following the 20-8 win against Swinton at Sedgley Park which saw Oldham through to the fifth round of the Carnegie Challenge Cup.
 
Deaks revealed that Cass was in charge of much of the team's preparation during the week as part of a pre-conceived plan hatched three or four weeks ago.
 
"The assistant coach needs to step up from time to time," explained Deaks, "and we decided some time ago that he would take charge this week.
 
"He took the lead in a lot of the preparation this week, so a big 'well done' to Mark Cass."
 
Asked about what he would be hoping for in the fifth round -- to be played on Sunday, May 11 -- he said: "A big pay-day for the club . . . a crowd of 15,000, say, in Boundary Park; no injuries; and a performance of which everyone at the club could be real proud." The draw will be made on Tuesday evening at around 6.45pm.
 
Tommy Grundy was forced to quit early in the game with a back injury. He took no further part, thus restricting movement on and off the bench. Deaks also revealed that right-wing pair Gareth Langley and Craig Littler had battled through despite carrying leg injuries which he felt had caused them to struggle on long chases.
 
Early indications after the game were that Lucas Onyango and Robert Roberts, both back after injury, had come through unscathed and with much credit.
 
'Two Bobs', back after a three-match absence with a hand injury, came off the bench to produce an outstanding performance and to carry off the official Carnegie man-of-the-match award judged by neutral observers.
 
Having been presented with his award, he said: "We won the arm-wrestle in what was a tough cup-tie. I'm sure Swinton will win more games here than they lose."
 
Earlier, in his post-match summing up, Deaks paid tribute to the "quality" of 'Two Bobs' whom, he said, took pressure off Neil Roden and James Coyle and thus enabled the halves to play much better than they had done at Keighley the week before.
 
He added: "The return of 'Two Bobs' gave us more quality, and it showed. He needed a break and he benefited from it, even though it was enforced by injury.
 
"Paul O'Connor acquitted himself well at full-back, despite his wayward pass to Lucas near the end. It was good to have Lucas back. He did some good carries and he was always trying to get involved.
 
"Adam Robinson's performance dipped a little bit at Keighley, but he stepped up today and had a fine game, as did Phil Joseph."
 
Commenting on the team's overall level of performance, he said: "We played the conditions well. We conceded a lot of ground last week on kick returns. If anything, I think Swinton have more potential to cause damage in that way than Keighley, but this week I was very pleased with that aspect of our performance.
 
"Our kicking game was better as well, as was our set completion. As a result of that, we spent more time with ball in hand than we did last week. We also had a lot of pride in our defending and out attitude to defence was outstanding.
 
"We must also recognise that, in reality, there will be ups and downs in every season and times when there are reasons why things don't always go as you would have hoped."